AN: This is just the first episode and how I think it could have gone with Prue being the youngest and Phoebe as the eldest Charmed One. I had a lot of fun writing it so I thought I'd share it with everyone else. My other story is my top priority so if I decide to continue this it won't be updated as often as my other... probably. I probably won't go any farther unless people just absolutely love it or something. It was pretty fun to write and I hope you enjoy it at least a little. You'll notice most places that don't involve the sisters in any way were pretty much copied from my other story. It just made it easier so I hope no one dislikes that too much.

Ages are a little different.

Phoebe would be 25

Piper is 22

Prue is 19 (almost 20 as her birthday is in Dead Man Dating)

Andy is a year above her so he just turned 21

Something Wicca This Way Comes

Selena Fredrick's Apartment

A young woman with short blonde hair walks through her apartment carrying a tray of food and water for her cat. As she walks into her kitchen thunder can be heard accompanying the sound of rain outside the apartment.

"Come on, baby. " She calls softly as she sets the tray down. Almost immediately the cat meows and runs to the food. "Good girl." She finishes. She pets her cat and slowly stands up, careful not to step on her long dark blue dress. She walks off into an adjoining room holding a silver goblet in her hands. She kneels before the alter set up in the room and places the goblet in the middle amidst the candles and spices. With just a touch of her finger she lights the candles before her.

Outside her apartment a figure wearing a long black cloak can be seen climbing down a ladder. The heavy rain no doubt muffling the sounds of his approach.

Her concentration unbroken she begins to chant "Ancient one of the earth so deep, master of moon and sun. I shield you in my wiccan way, here in my circle round, asking you to protect this space, and offer your sun force down."

The dark figure enters the house through the kitchen effectively scaring the cat out of the room. It approaches her quietly and just as she finished the chant she spins around in panic. She sighs in relief upon recognizing the intruder.

"What are you doing here?" She asks a slight smile appearing on her face. In response the intruder pulls out a knife and plunges it into her stomach. She lets out a scream that is cut short as she is left to fall lifeless to the ground.

The Halliwell Manor

Piper Halliwell ran swiftly through the rain towards the old pink Victorian Manor that she shared with her younger sister. Her eldest sister had left for New York six months earlier after their grandmother/guardian passed away. Pushing the thoughts of her sisters out of her mind she inwardly cursed at her situation; here she was having to run through a storm wearing a dress and high heels with only a light rain jacket, and a small umbrella. On top of that, she had left Prue by herself at the house, who was sure to have thrown a party or something with her college friends. I didn't even get the job yet… she thought as she ran up the steps. As she reached the front door she lowered and closed her umbrella while reaching for the door handle. She took a deep breath.

"Here we go" She whispered and opened the door. She squeezed in, quickly shutting the door behind leaving the cold rain outside. "Prue? " Piper called as she hung up her umbrella and jacket. At first she was met with silence, which was a relief since that meant Prue had actually listened to her and not invited anyone over. She looked up towards the staircase as she heard hurried footsteps and a moment later Prue came in sight.

"Hi, Piper." Prue greeted, jumping past the last step to land on the floor. Her raven-black hair was pulled back loosely with a clip while her ice blue eyes were upon the expensive camera that was strapped around her neck.

Piper sat her bags down next to the door and subconsciously pushed her damp shoulder-length brown hair away from her face. "Did the electrician come by?" She asked, her brown eyes narrowed slightly at her little sister. Prue had a tendency of missing the appointments set up, or at least being late enough that the electrician gave up on waiting and left.

Prue bit her lip slightly and looked a little guilty. "I didn't get home in time." She admitted sheepishly. She saw her older sister's eyes narrow, a sure sign that she was about to get a lecture. "But I have a good reason! Look at this." Prue insisted, rushing off into the kitchen to grab several pieces of paper off the table

Piper watched her leave; her curiosity peeked by Prue's excitement. Whatever it was, Prue at least believed that this was more important than the electrician. Slowly Piper followed her into the kitchen where Prue immediately shoved some papers into her hand.

Prue smiled expectantly as Piper read them over. One of them was her college transcript, thus far, that she had picked up after class from her adviser. Her grades were nothing short of stellar if she said so herself. Another was a letter from her career adviser saying that they had found her a job at a local magazine studio as their photographer. It was only a college magazine, but it paid her, gave her experience, and kept her from getting rusty while having to go through school. The last was from the magazine studio itself, giving her congratulations for coming to work with them and asking her to stop by sometime tomorrow to work her hours out around her college classes.

Piper glanced up at her little sister in disbelief before looking over the papers again to make sure she had read them correctly. It wasn't so much that it was surprising that all of this was for Prue and perfectly legit, so much as Piper hadn't even known Prue had been going to a career advisor or had been doing so well in her classes.

Prue began to frown uncertainly at the continued silence from Piper. "Uh, I know that it doesn't pay well and everything, but I thought that it could at least cover some of my college expenses, that way you can actually focus more on the bills and not my college loans." She began a little nervously. She couldn't tell if Piper approved or not and it was driving her crazy.

"I think it's great, sweetie. Perfect for you." Piper finally spoke up, approval shining through her words.

Prue brightened immediately. "Really? I am sorry I missed the electrician… I tried to work on the chandelier myself, but it's stubborn. I think it's finally kicked the bucket." She explained quickly.

Piper shook her head slightly about to say something when her eyes caught sight of a package and a bunch of roses on the table. "Who gave you those?" Piper demanded, her big sister instincts kicking in. They looked really expensive… way too expensive for some college guy to spend on Prue. Expensive gifts either come from someone you've dated awhile or from some really desperate guys. Desperate guys can be dangerous and Prue hadn't dated anyone for a month or so now.

Prue followed her sister's eyes to the presents and she smiled in realization of what Piper apparently thought. "Actually, they're for you. Jeremy had them delivered earlier since he couldn't get off work to come and see you tonight." Prue replied.

"Oh… that's okay then." Piper allowed, her instincts backing off as she smiled and quickly moved to open the package. She was pleased to notice that Prue had fought off her curiosity and not opened it already.

Prue followed her sister quickly, looking over her shoulder as Piper opened her package. With a grin she backed up a few paces and pulled her camera out. To the left a little, zoom, focus, wait until she gets it open, shoot. Prue silently told herself.

Piper saw the flash of the camera as she pulled out a bottle of wine from the wrapped package. "Prue! I don't like my picture taken by surprise!" She whined humorously.

"Oh, come on, Pipe. It's a good picture. See?" Prue countered, skipping toward her elder sister and turning the camera around for Piper to see her picture.

Piper looked at the miniature picture of herself on Prue's camera. "If you like pictures of me it's a great picture." She conceded with a nod.

Prue rolled her eyes at the comment. "I don't know why you think people wouldn't like pictures of you. You're beautiful."

"Thanks, Sis." Piper answered gratefully.

Prue let the subject drop, knowing Piper had always been self-conscious about her image. "So, Jeremy sent you port?" She prompted, slyly changing the subject to Piper's fiancé. Prue's ice blue eyes flickered to land on the wine bottle in Piper's hands, a questioning look in her eyes.

"It's the ultimate ingredient for my audition recipe tomorrow." Piper explained with a soft laugh at Prue's confusion. It was known in the Halliwell household that anything food related was left to Piper. Both their eldest sister, Phoebe, and Prue couldn't cook to save their lives. Prue was especially bad.

"I guess that Wolfgang-puck knockoff didn't hire you then?" Prue guessed, crossing her arms at the thought. The guy must be insane to pass by Piper. She was an amazing cook.

Piper frowned and ran a hand through her hair, allowing a hint of her frustration to show through. "No, but with this, he may give me the job after tomorrow." She decided hopefully. She had just quit her job at the bank after the insurance (the whole reason she was with the bank in the first place) changed and didn't cover enough for her and Prue. She could afford better insurance as soon as she got another job. Preferably one she was willing to live with. Piper carefully sat the bottle of port down on the table, her eyes now catching sight of the old spirit board that was sitting a little farther down. "Oh my God! I don't believe it. Tell me that's not our old spirit board!" She exclaimed, running towards it with outstretched hands.

"Oh yeah. I found it in the basement when I was looking for the circuit tester." Prue explained, as Piper flipped the spirit board over to look at the inscription on the back.

"To my three beautiful girls. May this give you the light to find the shadows. The power of three will set you free. Love, Mom." She read with a smile.

Prue glanced over the engraving for a moment and couldn't resist a crack at Phoebe. "Well, we should send it to Phoebe. That girl is so in the dark maybe a bit of light would help." Prue suggested as a joke. Obviously she would never give something that meant so much to her to Phoebe.

"Prue!" Piper scolded, narrowing her eyes at her little sister.

Prue crossed her arms defensively. "What?"

Piper gently placed the spirit board back on the table before answering. "You know what." She retorted, still in her scolding voice.

"Well, maybe if she hadn't run off because we are and I quote 'too difficult' then maybe I wouldn't say anything. I mean, I think for the most part I was pretty sensible. At least more so than she could say at the age of nineteen." Prue ranted, her voice rising slightly just at the mention of Phoebe.

Piper sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to talk to Prue on the subject anymore. "Why don't we find something to eat?" She suggested, pointing toward the kitchen. She grabbed Prue's hand and pulled her along despite Prue's apparent bad temper.

As Prue and Piper left the room, the pointer began to move along the spirit board, unnoticed by the two sisters.

Serena Fredrick's Apartment

Andrew Trudeau was driving his police car toward the home of the latest murder. Over an hour ago his partner Darryl Morris had called and told him another woman had been stabbed. This was the fourth woman to be killed in a short time frame and the police were no closer to figuring out who was behind it. In his frustration he had decided to follow a lead. He knew it had been far-fetched to theorize the women as witches, but he had decided it was worth a shot. Andy pulled into the parking lot of the apartments that the victim had lived in. He quickly shut off his car and stepped into the heavy rain. As he traversed around the police, paramedics, and bystanders he pulled out his police mark and flashed it to the officer prohibiting the curious bystanders from entering. Morris was waiting for him at the door of the apartment.

"Well, it's about time." Morris called, checking his watch as soon as he caught sight of his partner.

"I got here as soon as I heard. Another dead female right? Mid to late twenties." Andy responded, beginning to push past Darryl into the house.

"I've been paging you for over an hour, Trudeau. Where have you been?" Darryl asked pushing open the door and leading Andy through the maze of people. Morris knew Andy was a good cop, even if he wasn't through school yet and was technically just an intern. He knew what was worthy of his attention so he wouldn't have put his arrival off without a sound reason. However, sometimes it seemed his partner was a bit too independent in his investigations.

"Checking out a lead." Andy replied, purposely leaving out the details. He pushed his damp brown hair away from his eyes and avoided looking at Darryl.

"What lead?" Darryl pressed, unwilling to let Andy avoid the question that easily.

Andy sighed realizing he was going to have to be more specific. He turned around to face Darryl. "One that didn't go anywhere." he answered glancing at his watch in frustration. While they were here talking some creep was out there killing women. For all they knew he could be picking out his next victim at this moment.

"You're avoiding my question." Morris pointed out moving farther into the apartment, his partner following.

"Because you don't want to know that I went to an occult shop." Andy finally gave in.

Darryl turned to look back at Trudeau in surprise. He laughed in disbelief. "You hate me don't you? You wanna see me suffer." He accused, turning away.

"I wanna solve these murders. Someone's after witches." Trudeau insisted remembering the tattoo on all the victims as well as some of their personal affects.

"Women." Darryl countered.

"That woman up there. I bet she was killed with an athame." Andy guessed. So far all of the victims had been killed with one and it was a tool used by witches which backed his theory.

"Wrong. Double-edged steel knife." Morris replied turning to face Andy with a look of triumph.

Andy just grinned. "Right. That's an athame" He countered. "It's a ceremonial tool. Witches use them to direct energy." He explained, looking around to see if anyone was listening to them.

"That woman didn't direct jack. She was stabbed. Plain and simple." Darryl insisted, refusing to give in to his partner's logic.

After determining that no one was paying them any attention Andy lowered his voice so as not to be heard just in case. "Was she found near an alter?" He asked.

"Yes." Darryl replied shortly.

"Were there carvings on that alter?" Andy pressed, smiling as he realized Darryl was trapped.

Darryl rolled his eyes as he realized that what Andy was implying almost made sense… almost "Look. Just do me a favor. Don't ever follow a lead without checking with me first."

"You want to go to occult shops?" Andy joked, grinning at his partner's reaction to being cornered.

Darryl forced a laugh at Andy's joke. "Get to work, okay?" He ordered, turning around and walking into the room where the victim's body was.

Andy began to follow still smiling to himself until a voice called out behind him. "Inspector Trudeau?" He turned around to face a young reporter.

"Jeremy Burns. San Francisco Chronicles." He introduced himself and then continued. "Care to comment?"

"A woman was stabbed. Plain and simple." Andy responded cryptically, echoing his partner's earlier words. He turned back to follow Morris and finally get to work.

"Well, that's the fourth one in three weeks." Jeremy countered, obviously hoping to pull more information from the young and inexperienced inspector.

Andy spun around as if to say something but caught himself unwilling to be quoted incorrectly on something this serious. Instead he just turned his back on the reporter and followed Morris to the body of the victim.

The Halliwell Manor

Prue was sitting at the kitchen table with her college books open and spread across the top. The laptop was on and to her left with just enough room, her paper, which she was attempting to write. From where she was sitting she could just see Piper fiddling with the circuit tester in the dark closet that it resided in.

"This is hopeless. I am getting no-where." Piper ranted, slamming the circuit box door closed.

Prue glanced up, glad for the excuse for having a break. Her head was beginning to hurt with all the information. "Bright side? The electric bill should go down." She offered with an innocent smile. She immediately looked back down at her work, feigning interest when Piper cast her a glare.

Piper looked down at her watch, her stomach tightening when she realized how late it was. Phoebe would be arriving home soon and she still hadn't broken the news to Prue. "So Prue, what do you think of having someone move into that spare room?" She asked casually, stepping out of the dark closet and stopping next to Prue.

"I think it's a good idea. We could rent it out at a reduced rate for help around the house." Prue suggested, without looking up from her work.

"Phoebe's always been good with a wrench." Piper pointed out mildly. She held her breath for Prue's reaction. Even though she was the elder sister here Prue and she had become really close in the last few months and she wasn't particularly keen to get on Prue's bad side over something like Phoebe.

Prue didn't appear fazed by the mention of their eldest sister. "Last I checked she'd moved off to New York." She countered, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Piper sighed and took a deep breath before breaking the news. "Not anymore." Piper released, biting her lip slightly.

Prue blinked in confusion, her ice blue eyes flickering to look into Piper's brown ones. "What?" She asked, sounding stunned at the revelation. Just because she's left New York doesn't mean she's coming here… Piper wouldn't let her come back… surely… She thought, though part of her realized that was just what she wanted to believe and not necessarily true.

"Phoebe left New York. She's moving back in with us." Piper rather reluctantly replied.

Prue appeared speechless. Her confusion flew past upset and straight into anger. How dare she expect to just come back after walking out on them. And for what? To find their father who had left before she, Prue, had turned two?

Piper watched the inner conflict in Prue's eyes and sat down next to her baby sister. "Listen Prue, she had nowhere else to go. She's lost her job, in debt, and technically the house is hers too. It was willed to all of us." She tried to explain as gently as she could.

"Whatever. As long as she gets a job and helps you with the bills and stays away from me… I'll be fine." Prue hissed, getting up from her seat and grabbing at her huge textbooks. She was moving up to her room. There was no way she wanted to be here when Phoebe came waltzing in, like she owned the place.

"Prue…" Piper began as she watched Prue try to carry all her textbooks as well as her laptop up the stairs. She ran forward when Prue almost lost a grip on everything, steadying her sister. "Here, at least let me help." She decided to say instead of continuing the touchy topic of Phoebe.

Piper and Prue both jumped in surprise when the front door suddenly opened and their eldest sister squeezed in trying to leave as much of the cold wind outside as possible. "Surprise! I found the hide-a-key." Phoebe announced, holding it up and taking several steps toward her little sisters. Her gaze landed on Piper first, who broke into a wide smile. Then her gaze shifted to Prue and she was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of guilt. Her youngest sister, carrying a pile of textbooks, wouldn't even look at her and appeared to only be staying because Piper had a hand on her shoulder.

Piper gently placed Prue's laptop and one of her textbooks on the nearest side table and rushed forward to give Phoebe a quick hug. "Phoebe, welcome home!" She greeted enthusiastically.

"Hey, Piper!" Phoebe replied, tightening her hold on her little sister. She had missed them so much… both of them. More than she would ever admit.

"It's so good to see you." Piper welcomed and then looked back to Prue obviously expecting a greeting for Phoebe from her. With no response forthcoming she prompted "Isn't it Prue?"

Prue, ignoring Phoebe for the time being, had walked toward the side table where her laptop was sitting. Balancing her textbooks on her knee she carefully placed her laptop on top. "I'm speechless." Prue offered sharply, a little breathless from trying to hold all her heavy books and now the added weight of the laptop.

Piper was about to tell Prue to leave her stuff for a moment until she could help her, but was interrupted by a loud and blaring horn from the cab car that Phoebe had taken.

"Oops, I forgot about the cab." Phoebe muttered, shuffling through her purse looking for any money at all.

Prue raised her eyebrows, just now realizing how poor Phoebe actually was, not that it helped her be any more sympathetic.

"I'll get it." Piper offered, running forward and grabbing her purse off the end table by the door and heading out the door, leaving Phoebe and Prue by themselves in the Manor.

Prue's eyes flashed a moment with anger that Piper had to pay for the cab with the money she worked so hard for. She slowly made her way toward the staircase, leaning against the wall for support.

Phoebe watched Prue for a moment before taking several steps toward her baby sister. "I'll pay her back." She called, recognizing the anger in Prue's eyes.

"You better…" Prue snapped, only stopping when Phoebe moved around her and blocked her way to the stairs. "Get out of my way, Phoebe." Prue added coldly.

"Look, I know that you're mad at me for leaving…" Phoebe began, but was cut off by her little sister.

"We're not selling Gram's house." Prue interrupted.

An annoyed looked flashed across Phoebe's face. "Is that why you think I came back?"

Prue's eyes narrowed dangerously and she made to move around Phoebe. Her arms were getting extremely tired, not to mention the books cutting into her. "Well, if I remember correctly, which I do. You were the one that told Piper to give up on the house because it was 'too difficult' to maintain and pay for." She pointed out. 'Too difficult.' That had been Phoebe's excuse for everything.

"How about we just talk about what's really bothering you?" Phoebe suggested her annoyance quickly turning into anger as it always did around Prue.

"No, I'm busy. I have a paper to write." Prue retorted. She was about halfway up the steps before Phoebe managed to calm herself enough to say anything.

"So you'd rather have a tense reunion with boring chitchat and unimportant small talk?" Phoebe pressed sarcastically with a roll of her chocolate brown eyes.

Prue laughed mirthlessly at her sarcasm. "Honestly I'm not planning on actually talking to you as soon as I make it up to my room." Prue replied shortly.

"Prue, what hell is the matter with you?" Phoebe yelled, her patience running out at her little sister's continued arguing.

Prue spun on her, eyes flashing dangerously. "What's the matter with me? What the hell is the matter with you? You left for what? Victor? I bet you didn't even find him. Wasted all your money on him when he never gave us so much as the time of day. Left Piper to take care of everything. So tell me, Phoebe, was it worth it?" Prue screamed back.

Phoebe was silently seething. She was about to reply when Piper came walking in trying to be as cheery as possible after hearing the yelling coming from the house. "Hey! I have a great idea! Why don't I make a fabulous reunion dinner." Piper suggested looking excitedly from one sister to the next.

"Not hungry." Prue muttered without a glance toward Piper. She gave Phoebe one last glare before stomping up the last few steps toward the safety of her room.

"Ate on the bus." Phoebe replied, picking up her one suitcase that she owned and making her way to the Conservatory. She wasn't going to risk running into Prue for awhile. She'd make herself comfortable in the Conservatory until she was sure Prue was safely in her room.

Piper watched with worried eyes as her two sisters went their separate ways, knowing full well of the argument that had occurred while she'd been paying the cab driver. "Okay, we'll try the group hug later." She decided, heading for the kitchen, her safe haven.

~PO3~

Phoebe finally entered her old room and threw her suitcase in the floor in frustration. She immediately went to the old TV and turned it on for no other reason than to have something to do. Ugh… Soap Opera. Nope… Sports. No. News. It'll do. She pulled off her light jacket and set it down on the dresser before walking up to her mirror and messing with her makeup. Over the noise of the television she heard a knock on her door.

"It's me." Piper's voice carried through the wooden door.

Phoebe was silent for a moment wondering whether she should just tell Piper to go away, but decided she could use the company. "Come in." She called over the TV. Piper opened the door and entered carrying a tray of food. Phoebe turned away from the mirror and smiled in greeting. Her smile widened as she saw the food. "Thank god. I'm starving." She said lying down on her bed as Piper set the food down on the dresser within reach of Phoebe.

"I figured." Piper laughed and glanced over at the TV. "Hey! That's my boyfriend, Jeremy" She said smiling at the thought of him. Suddenly she frowned seeing the ambulances and police in the background. "What happened?" Piper asked Phoebe.

"Oh, some woman got whacked." Phoebe replied nonchalantly grabbing at some food from the tray.

"Whacked?" Piper asked giving Phoebe a disapproving look at her new diction. "Phoebe, you've been in New York way to long." She told her sitting down on the edge of Phoebe's bed.

Phoebe suddenly frowned and looked away from Piper. "Yeah, maybe I should have just stayed." She responded and then narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why didn't you tell Prue I was coming back?"

"You should have been the one to tell her instead of laying it on me. I didn't want to upset her." Piper countered, grabbing the remote and switched the TV off.

"Agreed." Phoebe conceded with a sigh. "I just don't know how to talk to her. Every time I try she just gets so… defensive." Phoebe confessed, playing with the food on her tray.

Piper thought the confession over for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase what needed to be said. "Look, just try and think about how she feels with the situation. If you can understand her than it should be easier to keep sensible. And remember, she doesn't know how to deal with you either. You're both in the same boat." Piper advised slowly.

Phoebe listened silently and didn't reply immediately. "So, how is she doing? I mean, she's in college now, right?" She wondered curiously. Phoebe frowned at the thought since she had decided to wait for college and obviously hadn't ever gone back. That meant her baby sister was farther along than she was.

"She's great. She's planning on being a photographer still and has amazing grades. I just saw her transcript today actually. She's even been awarded a job as the college magazine's photographer by her career adviser, which will look great on a resume." Piper explained smiling slightly at the accomplishments of their little sister.

Phoebe sighed and dropped her head in her hand. "Ugh… I need a job or I'll never hear the end of it." She muttered.

Piper narrowed her eyes slightly. "Just take a few days, settle in, then you can worry about proving to Prue that you're going to help out." She fell silent when Phoebe didn't say anything. "… You are going to help out, right? I don't think I can cover feeding another person with my salary."

"Of course I'm going to help. I didn't come back here to mooch off you guys. I actually want to get somewhere with my life before it's really too late." Phoebe snapped, rolling her eyes.

Piper rose to her feet and made her way toward the door. "That my dear sister is going to take time, but like I said, settle in and then worry about it." She reiterated, closing Phoebe's door behind her. Piper glanced toward Prue's room, wondering if maybe she needed to talk too. After a moment, she walked to Prue's door and knocked softly.

Serena Fredrick's Apartment

In the apartment of the murdered woman Andy and Darryl were inspecting the body of the victim. Behind them many other inspectors were looking for evidence that may lead to a suspect. Andy's eyes focused on the tattoo that the victim had. A circle with three interlocking arcs inside. Some Wiccan symbol he presumed. "It's the same tattoo that was on the other three victims." He observed turning to look at Darryl as he approached.

"So the murderer is killing occults." Darryl stated looking down at the woman.

Andy frowned and decided to bring up his theory again now that there was a bit more evidence backing it. "No, the murderer is on a witch hunt." He insisted covering the body back up with the white sheet.

"Oh, yeah, and he's five hundred years old and lives in Salem." Darryl agreed sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "Look around, Trudeau. Pentagrams, alters, offerings, all tools of a freak fest." He continued turning around and pointing towards the alter in the room.

"They call them Sabbaths. Which is hardly a freak fest. She was a solitary practitioner. She practiced her craft alone." Andy responded pushing his point.

"Right." Darryl replied in disbelief but decided it best to let it go.

However, Andy was unwilling to let it go. "Let me ask you something, Morris. Do you believe in U.?" He asked

"Hell, no." was Darryl's short reply.

"Neither do I." Andy agreed, nodding. "But do you believe there are people out there that do believe in U.F.O.s?" He asked eagerly awaiting Darryl's response.

"Yes, but I think they're crazy." He replied beginning to recognize where his partner was leading this.

"Well, then why can't you believe there are people who believe they are witches?" A short silence followed Andy's question.

"Look, all I know is that if you don't stop talking about witches, I'm going to start questioning you." Darryl responded slowly.

Andy looked away as the murdered woman's cat jumped onto the table beside them with a loud meow. Andy walked over to her and began to pet the cat.

Darryl watched his partner walk over to the cat and thought it best to give him a warning. That cat had already clawed most of the officers in the building before Trudeau had arrived. "I'd stay away from that cat, Trudeau. It's been clawing the crap out of everybody." He warned and then began to walk away. "See you at the car." He called over his shoulder. As he reached the door he turned to look back at his partner.

Andy had picked the cat up and was looking at her collar. It had the Wiccan symbol that was tattooed on the victim's on it. The circle with three interlocking arcs inside. Better known as the Triquetra to those of the Supernatural world.

The Halliwell Manor

After a long talk and a lot of persuasion Piper finally convinced Prue to come down to the Solarium with her and Phoebe to work on her paper. Piper and Phoebe were at one of the tables playing with the spirit board while Prue was sitting on the couch with her laptop and one of her notebooks.

"I'm glad to hear you and Jeremy are still together. Where did you meet him anyway?" Phoebe asked Piper as she pushed the pointer across the spirit board.

"We met at the hospital cafeteria; the day Grams was admitted into the hospital. He was covering a story and I was balling over a bagel. So, he handed me a napkin" Piper explained, smiling at the memory, though a little embarrassed.

"How romantic." Phoebe teased laughing.

Piper rolled her eyes at the teasing remark. "As a matter of fact it was, the napkin had his phone number on it." Phoebe laughed and they continued playing with the spirit board. "Stop pushing the pointer." Piper told Phoebe breaking the temporary silence.

"I'm not touching it." Phoebe protested.

"You always used to push the pointer." Piper countered getting to her feet. "More popcorn?" She asked looking toward Phoebe. Phoebe nodded and Piper walked toward the kitchen.

Phoebe's eyes flickered to look over at Prue, who refused to say anything as long as Phoebe was in the room. With a soft sigh she looked back at the spirit board pleadingly. "Question 1: How can I redeem myself in Prue's eyes?" She whispered so softly that Prue couldn't hear. Suddenly the pointer began to move stopping on the letter A. Phoebe's eyes widened in surprise. "Piper… "She whispered speechless. Almost immediately it swerved and stopped on the letter T. "Piper! I think you need to see this!" Phoebe yelled.

Prue jumped at the sudden yell from her older sister. "What happened?" She demanded with worried eyes toward her eldest sister. Prue was already on her feet and was scouring the area for anything wrong.

Before Phoebe could say anything Piper came walking in. "What?" Piper asked curiously.

"The pointer on the spirit board. It moved on its own." Phoebe explained looking down at it.

Prue looked annoyed, having thought something was legitimately wrong while Piper looked amused, thinking Phoebe was just playing around.

Phoebe glanced up at them and recognized their expressions. "I'm serious. It spelled 'A' 'T'" Phoebe explained.

"Well did you push it?" Piper asked smiling.

"No." Phoebe snapped sending a glare at her younger sisters.

"You used to always push the pointer." Prue pointed out rolling her eyes.

"My fingers were barely touching it." Phoebe insisted. "Look." She tried to will the pointer to move. Nothing happened.

Prue twirled a piece of her hair while waiting for something to happen. After a few moments she gave up and turned back to the couch and her paper while Piper turned back into the kitchen. Just as they turned the pointer moved from 'T' to the middle of the board and back to 'T.'

"It moved again… I'm totally serious." Phoebe exclaimed.

Prue walked up to glance over Phoebe's shoulder and raised her eyebrows. "It's still on the letter 'T.'" She pointed out knowingly.

"I swear it moved." Phoebe tried to explain.

Prue spun on her heel and dropped back down on the couch, making a point to ignore the rest of her sisters' conversation.

Piper turned to watch Prue leave and looked back toward Phoebe just as the pointer moved to the letter 'I."

"There." Phoebe called nervously pushing her chair back away from the table. "You saw that right?" She asked, looking up at Piper hopefully.

"I think so, yeah." Piper replied, her brown eyes not leaving the spirit board.

"I told you I wasn't touching it." Phoebe responded in an I-told-you-so voice as the pointer once again moved from the letter 'I' to stop on the letter 'C' Piper clearly seeing it this time bolted toward Phoebe and grabbed onto her eldest sister's arm. Phoebe grabbed hold of a pen and began writing the letters down on an envelope that was nearby. "I think it's trying to tell us something." Phoebe explained and held up the envelope where she had written 'ATTIC' down. All of a sudden a clap of thunder was heard loud enough to shake the house and the lights in the house flickered and went out.

Piper jumped in surprise, her nails digging into Phoebe's arm as Prue cursed when the source of light disappeared. Her laptop, fortunately, stayed on, but she irritably threw her notebook down on the table.

~PO3~

"Piper, the power went out, that is all. We're perfectly safe here." Prue called trying to talk some sense into Piper. Her older sister was practically running toward the front door. The dark house lit up from the lightning outside casting shadows along the walls of the old house.

"Don't say that! In horror movies the person that says that is always the next to die." Piper called over her shoulder not slowing down in the slightest.

"It's pouring rain. There's a psycho on the loose. Jeremy's not even home!" Prue added grabbing Piper's arm and spinning her around to face her. Piper glared at her little sister and stubbornly grabbed her rain jacket and put it on.

Well, I'll… I'll…I'll wait in the cab until he gets home from work." Piper countered

"That'll be cheap." Prue retorted rolling her eyes.

"Prue! I saw that pointer move!" Piper insisted as Phoebe came in from the Solarium where they had been sitting.

Prue opened her mouth to argue, but Phoebe beat her to it. "Piper, just breathe. Prue, go get the flashlights." Phoebe ordered, receiving a quick glare from Prue who had to bite back a sharp retort for being ordered around.

Deciding it would be pointless to argue over something so stupid, Prue turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen where they kept the flashlights.

Phoebe turned to watch Piper as she ran to the phone, only to realize it didn't work. Piper nervously slammed the phone back down. "Great, now the phone doesn't work." She panicked.

"The power's out." Phoebe pointed out mildly, crossing her arms and appearing fairly amused by Piper's panicking. "Look, let's just check out the attic. It's not that big of a deal." She suggested.

"Not that big of a deal? Phoebe, the pointer on the spirit board moved! By itself! How is that not a big deal?" Piper snapped.

Phoebe waited out her rant calmly. "Pretty cool, don't you think?"

"No, there is something wrong with the house! Prue and I have lived in this house for months and we've never been able to get that attic door open." Piper countered, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically.

"Phoebe! Quit trying to trick Piper." Prue scolded, coming back into the Foyer with three flashlights that she passed to each of her sisters.

Phoebe's eyes narrowed at her baby sister. "Maybe if you had been paying attention you wouldn't have missed the fact that I'm not tricking her." Phoebe hissed defiantly.

"Oh, please, Phoebe. Give it up. Your tricks haven't worked on me since the fifth grade." Prue retorted with a roll of her eyes. "Now, if you don't mind I'm going to the basement to check out the main circuit box. Piper, I need you to come with me."

Piper glanced over at her in surprise. "Why?"

"I need you to hold the flashlight." Prue explained giving Piper a pleading look.

"Phoebe will go to the basement, won't you Phoebe?" Piper turned on Phoebe, still trying to get away to go find Jeremy.

Phoebe shook her head and turned toward the stairs. "Nope, I'm going to the attic." She replied, already heading up the stairs.

"I thought we'd decided to wait on the handyman." Prue pointed out looking slightly annoyed, yet a little interested at what was in the attic.

"I'm not waiting for some handyman to check out the attic and I'm certainly not waiting until tomorrow. I'm going now." Phoebe called as she disappeared up the steps.

With a last look at the stairs Prue grabbed Piper's hand and pulled her after her toward the basement.

~PO3~

Phoebe continued to climb the stairs, moving quickly in her eagerness. She kept her hand against the wall for support as she walked through the darkness that was only penetrated by a lightning strike or by the flashlight she had clutched in her other hand. She reached the attic door and jiggled the door knob half-heartedly. She hadn't expected it to open that easily. Instead she turned the knob as far as it would go and pushed trying to force it open. After a few moments of struggling with the door she stepped back looking frustrated. With a deep sigh she turned around beginning to head back downstairs. Just as she turned her back on it, the door swung open. The creaking of the hinges alerted Phoebe and she spun around, her heart pounding. Slowly she walked inside the beam of the flashlight before her. It landed on a chest against the wall and she moved toward it. As she approached she set her flashlight down on a nearby table and slowly clenched and unclenched her hand. She hadn't realized how hard she had been gripping it, but it was just a fleeting thought as her curiosity began to overwhelm her. She kneeled down beside the chest and opened it enough to pull out the first thing she saw. A large black leather-bound book with a large circle with three interlocking arcs. Phoebe sat down in a nearby chair and blew the dust off the old book before opening it and beginning to read.

"The Book of Shadows." she read and then paused looking around unsure. She thought about putting it back to look at other objects but she felt a pull to read it. It felt right so she turned the page.

"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

In this night and in this hour

I call upon the Ancient Power

Bring your powers to we sisters three

We want the power

Give us the power"

Phoebe read and then trailed off speechless.

Unnoticed by all inhabitants of the Manor the old chandelier in the foyer lit up sending blue and white lights through the house. The picture on the mantle taken several years previous began to change. Once the picture was of the three girls with Prue and Phoebe on the very edges obviously wanting to be as far apart as possible. Piper was almost in the background as if she hadn't wanted her picture taken. Prue had moved in next to Piper and Phoebe moved in on the other side of Piper. It left all three sisters closer than they had been before.

Phoebe remained silent, flipping through the book eagerly. Behind her the other two sisters entered both of them looking stunned to find the attic door open and Phoebe reading a large book.

"You got it open!" Prue announced excitedly, her eyes flickering over the mysterious attic. When they were younger she remembered her Grams had told them it had been blocked off, then for the past six months it had been too stubborn to open. She stepped into the attic for the first time that she could remember and immediately felt she was supposed to be here.

Phoebe jumped in surprise and slammed the book shut. "Yeah, you should check out this stuff. We even have a book of witchcraft in here." She commented.

"A what?" Piper demanded nervously, grabbing tight hold of Prue's hand and pulling her forward next to Phoebe.

"This Book of Shadows. It's full of incantations and stuff. I found it in that trunk." Phoebe explained, pointing to the chest that was open.

"Let me see that." Prue pleaded taking the large book from Phoebe and flipping through it.

Piper narrowed her eyes at the book as if she expected it would shoot fire or electrify Prue for touching it. "You didn't read anything did you?" Piper wondered, biting her lip.

"Yeah, an incantation… you know that's what books are for. It said something about there being three essentials of magic. Uh, timing, feeling, and the phases of the moon. If we were ever going to do this. Now, midnight on a full moon, is the most powerful time." Phoebe stated eagerly.

"This? Do what this?" Piper prompted.

Phoebe shrugged nonchalantly. "According to the book, receive our powers." She replied, not appearing too concerned. As cool as she thought it would be to believe in this she didn't. All it was was good entertainment on a rainy night.

"What powers? Wait! Our powers? You included me in this?" Piper asked frustrated. She glanced at Prue as if waiting for some kind of confirmation.

Prue looked up and nodded slightly. "No she included all of us." Prue responded. "Bring your powers to we sisters three." She quoted, closing the book again. Her eyes were narrowed slightly in thought as Piper pulled the book from her hands to look over it herself.

~PO3~

Outside the house, lightning flashed to show the silhouette of a person wearing a long coat standing outside the Halliwell Manor.

~PO3~

A few moments later all three sisters walked back down the stairs. Prue looked thoughtful, Piper worried, and Phoebe indifferent.

"Nothing happened, right Phoebe, when you did that incantation?" Piper asked staring intently at the elder sister.

"Well, my head spun around and I vomited split-pea soup." Phoebe replied sarcastically, she trailed off when she caught Piper's eye. "No." She sighed half-wishing it would be true.

"Nothing could have changed. It's just a book. It's not like any of that stuff actually works." Prue put in with a roll of her eyes. "It's just a little excitement for the night." She added.

"Everything does look the same." Piper agreed reluctantly, looking around the foyer for a change but finding none.

"You're right." Phoebe replied sounding slightly disappointed.

"Yep, the house still needs work." Prue also responded walking off towards the kitchen followed by Phoebe. Piper followed reluctantly still looking around the house unconvinced.

"Everything looks the same, so nothing's changed right?" Piper asked looking for reassurance. Prue glanced behind her back at Piper and smiled reassuringly.

~PO3~

All through the night Phoebe stayed up reading the Book of Shadows. Before she knew it bright sunshine was shining through the windows in the attic and she finally sat the book to the side and stood up, giving her legs a much-needed stretch. She walked through the house as quiet as she could, flinching whenever the old floor creaked beneath her creating an echo that traveled throughout the silent house. She vaguely wondered where her sisters were as she poured herself a cup of coffee that had already been made. Phoebe wanted so much to tell everything she had read last night to one of them. The first one she saw. However, the minutes ticked by and the only noise that gave away the presence of any other person in the house was the sound of running water as the shower was turned on. With a sigh she walked outside the Manor and sat on the steps, lost in thought over the book. She didn't know how long she sat there just thinking and wishing but after a while she heard the front door open behind her and she turned to greet her sister.

Piper walked out of the house carrying a bag and a change of clothes for her job interview later in the day. She paused in surprise upon seeing Phoebe up so early in the morning. "Hey, you're up early." She commented looking at Phoebe curiously.

"I never went to sleep" Phoebe replied and turned to look back down the street while taking a sip of coffee.

Piper smiled wider and sat down next to her elder sister. "Don't tell me you put on a black conical hat and spent the night flying around the neighborhood on a broomstick?" She questioned teasingly.

Phoebe rolled her eyes at Piper's question and shook her head. "The only broom I've ever owned was kept in a closet beside a mop." She retorted laughing softly.

Piper narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "So what were you doing?" She asked, unsure if she actually wanted to know or not.

"Reading." She replied cryptically then looked back towards Piper. "Is Prue around?"

"She's already gone to school." Piper responded pausing for a moment. "Reading…. Aloud?" She pressed nervously. Phoebe may think this whole idea of witchcraft was humorous but Piper was against the idea of black magic.

"No…" Phoebe responded wondering if she should even say anything about what she had read. Piper had made it pretty obvious that she didn't think it was entertaining at all. In the end she decided to explain since Piper was pressing it. "But… According to the Book of Shadows one of our ancestors was a witch named Melinda Warren." She began nonchalantly.

Piper immediately stiffened at the mention of the book and took up an annoyed glance usually seen on Prue. "And we have a cousin who's a drunk, an aunt who's manic, and a father who's invisible." She replied sarcastically, getting to her feet and heading towards her jeep that was parked on the curb.

Phoebe rolled her eyes expecting this reaction and slowly followed Piper. "Come on, it's actually a pretty interesting story. I mean, she practiced powers. Three powers. She could move objects with her mind, see the future, and stop time. Before Melinda was burned at the stake she vowed that each generation of Warren Witches would become stronger and stronger until culminating in the arrival of three sisters. Now these sisters would be the most powerful witches the world has ever known. Kinda freaky, huh?" She laughed. During this speech Piper had remained silent as she placed her bag and clothes in the seat of the jeep. As Phoebe finished she turned to face her after taking a deep breath.

"A little I admit. But we do not have special powers. Grams wasn't a witch and as far as we know… neither was Mom." Piper assured herself as much as talking to Phoebe. With a soft smile she hugged Phoebe good bye. "Now that we've straightened that out, we can let it go. Prue doesn't need any more ideas in her head." Piper half-joked, but was obviously half-serious. With that she hopped into her car. The engine roared as it started up and she prepared to back out.

Phoebe laughed at Piper's response and couldn't resist calling after her "We're protectors of the innocent. We're known as the Charmed Ones." She teased her younger sister as Piper left. She was left in the middle of the street watching her sister drive off.

Golden State University (I read on Wikipedia that this is where she went, but I don't really know.)

Prue traversed her way through the crowded campus trying to get to her Art History class. It didn't help that she was stopped every few feet by someone calling. "Hey, Prue.", "Prue!", "How are you, Prue?", "Prue, will you go out with me?", etc. She would wave in greeting or in the latter's case pretend she didn't hear them, but either way it was still pretty distracting. Her thoughts moved to today's class. She had an extra credit contest project due, a very specific research paper regarding certain Italian artifacts in the 1600's. Prue had been spending much of her free-time in research and making it perfect. Whoever won, other than money, would receive a lot of recognition that would look great on future resumes outside of school as well as a name inside the school. She didn't just want to be known as Ms. Popular, but for her accomplishments since that's what really mattered outside of college. The money could also help out Piper. She felt obligated to at least try, even if she didn't win.

As she walked into the room, her eyes flickered to look at Roger. It was hard to miss him since he was trying desperately to grab her attention. He was several years older than her and was taking this class to finish his major. The guy had been asking Prue out since she first ran into him her freshmen year. Prue had always stubbornly refused. Prue looked up at him, but instead of joining his table she turned and walked down the far aisle. She dropped her bags next to another guy in her class, whose mouth dropped at having her sit next to him. Prue waved politely, hoping that he wouldn't move and open the seat up for Roger. Despite her obvious point to stay away from him, Roger strolled up to her table, stopping just next to her. She narrowed her eyes, thinking vaguely about how arrogant he was, while pulling her books from her bag and getting ready for the lesson.

Roger continued to stand there as if expecting her to give him some attention, but after about five minutes of her ignoring him he decided he would need to prompt the conversation. "Is your paper ready to turn in?" He asked slyly.

Prue's eyes narrowed even more, if possible, recognizing the pointed formal talk. He was up to something. The way he was staring at her said that much and though she would never admit it, he was creeping her out. She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat before answering shortly. "Yeah."

"So, I was hoping you could do me a favor." Roger broke the small talk, flashing her a smile. Prue was sure he meant for it to be charming, but it just didn't work for him.

"Okay." Prue prompted carefully, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance.

He smiled wider and pulled out a folder that he passed to Prue. "Could you read over my paper before I turn it in? Just a quick, manual, 'ABC check.' You know how hard it is to catch every mistake in your own paper."

Prue didn't say anything, but took the folder from him in silent agreement. She glanced at him warily as it sounded as if he had rehearsed this whole conversation with himself. He wanted something and she was pretty damn sure it had nothing to do with his contest paper. Prue quickly skimmed over the first page. She paled visibly and flipped to the next page, skimming it.

Roger appeared to be enjoying the spectacle as he sat down comfortably on her table, just in front of her.

Prue flipped to the next page, then the next, before skipping to the very end and reading over it. She dropped the papers, her hands clenching the edge of the table. "Where did you get it?" She demanded in a whisper of barely contained anger.

"Remember when you let Jimmy borrow your flash drive the other day to print his paper? You were talking with Professor Jones and didn't know I was in the room. I told Jimmy you said I could borrow it as well. He didn't even question me." Roger explained laughing softly at Prue's obvious anger yet inability to do anything about it. "Don't look like that, Prudence. It's your own fault for being naïve enough to let others use your flash drive to print papers."

Prue's eyes flickered to Jimmy, who was sitting on the other side of the room. Jimmy was a nice enough guy, bad family situation, but very honest, even charming in his own way. Prue liked him just because he didn't treat her like a prize to be won. He was just a friend, not a close friend obviously since he didn't know enough not to give Roger her flash drive. There was a hint of truth in Roger's words, but she didn't regret that so much as regretting turning her back on it, even if it was just for about five minutes.

"You look surprised." Roger observed with satisfaction.

"I don't know why, I'm furious." Prue retorted sharply, her blue eyes like chips of ice were fixed unwaveringly on Roger. His arrogant smile caused her anger to rise even more but she kept her voice calm and steady. "Why?" She demanded.

"Now that is an interesting question. You see, you wouldn't date me when I asked so I figured you needed a bit of persuasion." Roger began, watching her reaction closely.

Prue was silently fuming, leaning back against her chair with a look that could kill in her eyes.

"We don't have to turn this paper in until the end of class. We could skip and be back in time to turn it in. You give me what I want…" He glanced over her pointedly. "… and I will tell Professor Jones to withdraw my paper allowing you to turn yours in. As you may have guessed, this is just the copy." He explained calmly.

Prue frowned and looked away for a moment before looking back at him. "No." She snapped harshly.

Roger rolled his eyes at her stubbornness. "Come now, I know your sister needs help with the funds and we both know this paper is going to win…" He trailed off meaningfully.

"No." Prue repeated in a tone that clearly said this conversation was over.

Roger shrugged, confident that she would give in by the end of the class period. "My offer remains. The papers won't get sent to be read over until Tuesday (it's Friday). Since Professor Jones likes you so much she'll give you up until that day to turn it in so up until that day I have a chance to withdraw, but only if I get what I want. Until then, thanks for the paper and the money." He replied slyly knowing that she didn't have enough time to rewrite an entirely different paper. He jumped down from her table and waltzed back to his own.

Prue's eyes flashed and she focused all her anger on him, wishing more than anything to get him back. "Bastard." She muttered furiously under her breath as she ripped her bag open to grab a pencil and began doodling in an effort to cool off. In her focus on her paper she didn't notice that Roger had suddenly tripped over air and slammed into his table. She didn't look up at the class's laughter and therefore remained oblivious to what had happened.

Quake

In the popular café, Quake, Piper was quickly running back and forth between the counter and her boiling sauce that she was preparing for her audition. She was beginning to relax a little as she began pouring her wine (that Jeremy had bought her the day before) into a measuring cup. It was the last and most important ingredient for her recipe.

"Your time… is up." Chef Moore called coming into the audition room smiling expectantly at Piper. Piper jumped in surprise nearly dropped the measuring cup, a look of fear crossed her features. Oh no… not yet. Not yet. She thought frantically spinning around to face him. "Let's see. Roast pork with gratin of fennel and penne with a port giblet sauce." He read her audition recipe in his French accent.

"Uhhh… Chef Moore?" Piper responded softly, desperately trying to think of some way to gain a few extra seconds to add the wine.

"What?" He asked picking up a fork ready to sample.

"The port…" She continued pointing behind her to the measuring cup her face paling.

"Yes, without the sauce it is nothing more than a salty marinara from a woman's magazine. Puh." Chef Moore replied, not casting Piper a look.

"I didn't have time for the…." Piper began frantically trying to explain but was interrupted by a cough from Chef Moore clearly telling her to keep silent. "But… but…" She stammered as he began to raise the fork to his mouth. Piper panicked and put her hands up as if to make a frantic grab to stop him. Everything around her froze, Chef Moore with his mouth half open. "Chef Moore?" She whispered in disbelief waving her hand in front of his face looking for a response. With no response forthcoming she suddenly realized she could finish her recipe. She spun around and grabbed a baster filling it with wine from the measuring cup and ran back to Chef Moore. She dribbled some onto the forkful of food that he was about to eat. Just as she put the baster behind her back everything unfroze and Chef Moore put the food in his mouth. He smiled in surprise and nodded slightly.

"Mmmm… it is very good… C'est magnifique." He praised.

Piper stilled stunned by the unexpected help just forced a weak smile as she received the job. She nearly ran out of the restaurant toward the nearest phone booth afterwards. She had to talk to Phoebe.

Golden State University

Prue sat at her table fiddling with her pencil while straining to make out Roger and Professor Jones' conversation. The other students had already filed out, leaving Prue alone, feigning to be interested in finishing the work in front of her. She couldn't work like this, leaving only one solution. She threw her pencil in her bag, gathered her stuff and hastily left the room. As she left she could just hear what they were saying.

"This paper has to be the best I've seen written in years. Well thought out, creative, beautifully researched. I wanted your permission to show the department head. I think this paper may be helpful for future students…." Professor Jones was saying, causing Prue to clench her fist around her bag.

There was no way she could take credit for it now. Prue didn't wait around long enough to hear Roger's response and instead, headed straight for the Academic Advisor's Office. She threw the door open, slightly harder than necessary, and immediately filled out the required form requesting a meeting with her advisor.

Name:Prudence Marie Halliwell

Academic Advisor: Michael Bradford

Academic Major: Art History

Academic Minor:Photojournalism

Reason for Appointment: Class Change

Means of Contact: Cell- (678)-555-7430

She was so busy filling out her form she didn't notice Roger come up beside her until his voice broke her from her reverie.

"Class change? That's a bit on the extreme isn't it?" Roger commented, leaning against the counter and reading her writing over her shoulder.

Prue ignored him and passed her completed form to the woman at the desk before grabbing her stuff again and walking out without a backward glance.

Roger took off after her and grabbed her by the arm once in the hallway, pushing her up against the wall. "Think about this, Prue." He insisted, beginning to look angry at being ignored.

"I don't need to. Taking the same class at a different time is not going to hurt my progress in any way." Prue snapped, trying to pull from his grip and continue on her way.

His hand tightened around her arm, preventing movement. "Believe me, if you walk out now you will never get credit for the paper and you'll lose the money. Just another burden for your older sister to take care of."

"Don't threaten me, Roger." Prue retorted, her eyes turning cold again.

"Look, you're hurt, you're angry, your pride is wounded. I understand all that… which is why you can't see how great an opportunity this is for you." Roger observed half-hopefully.

Prue stared at him in disbelief. "Excuse me?" She asked with a roll of her eyes. Maybe he was legitimately insane…

"As soon as I get acknowledged I can help you rise above everyone else. You may be good at your work, but work ethic will only get you so far. It's all about knowing people and knowing me will get you far. Guaranteed." He winked at her with a large smile before she looked down at her hands.

When she looked up she was obviously trying hard to keep from laughing. "Well, I'm not worried. I'm sure you'll be able to explain everything about my paper when the questions come up from the department head." She countered sarcastically, her smile growing as Roger's face fell at the sudden realization.

"You're going to regret this." He replied sharply, advancing a step. Prue didn't back down and held his gaze confidently.

"Oh, I don't think so, but I suggest you let me go before I decide to file sexual harassment charges against you." Prue responded in a cheery tone. She noticed they had already gained quite a crowd watching their showdown. "Goodbye, Roger." She finished, spinning on her heel and walking away.

Fuming, dumbfounded, and humiliated in front of everyone watching, he couldn't let her walk away with that. She was so infuriating. How come she couldn't just give in to him like a normal person? He ran forward, grabbing her arms and slamming her against the wall again. In her surprise, her bag dropped to the floor and she turned on him with flashing blue eyes. Roger clenched his fist and swung. Pain exploded in her stomach and the breath was knocked out of her as she fell to the ground, landing heavily on her arm, with the impact of the blow. It didn't stop her from throwing a fist at his face and kicking up in an attempt to keep him off her as he tried to hold her down. Roger's hands wrapped around her wrists, trying to hold her still when he was suddenly thrown away from her. She stared in surprise, but her thoughts were interrupted as she became aware of the campus security guards rushing around them.

Outside Quake

Piper was inside the nearest phone booth putting her second quarter into the slot. No one had answered the first call. She waited nervously counting the rings growing increasingly impatient. "Phoebe, answer the phone… Phoebe" She willed her sister to pick up on the other end. The answering machine clicked on and Piper slammed the phone back on the holder and stormed out. A young man with sandy blonde hair approached Piper, causing her to jump back in surprise. "Oh, God, Jeremy! You scared me." Piper exclaimed holding her hand over her heart and taking deep breaths to calm it down.

"I…I see. I'm sorry. You okay?" Jeremy asked his voice full of concern for his girlfriend. The color was now beginning to return to Piper's face and she smiled at the surprise meeting with Jeremy.

"Now I am. I really am. Uh… What are you doing here?" She asked, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.

"Well, I wanted to be the first one to congratulate you on your new job." He explained. "Which meant that I had to find you before Prue beat me to it. " Jeremy added as a joke.

Piper laughed with a roll of her eyes. "You needn't have worried. Prue hasn't called." She responded, looking slightly put down. She vaguely wondered why Prue hadn't called. She always did, usually before results were even found out. She didn't dwell on it long as the thought was pushed out of her mind as another popped in. "How did you know?" Piper asked in surprise.

"You prepared your specialty and anyone who has ever sampled your work can truly see how talented you are." He explained, taking a step closer to her.

"I get so turned on when you talk about food." She responded giving him her hands.

Jeremy pulled her to him and whispered into her ear. "Hamburgers… Pizza." Before he kissed her.

The Street

Phoebe was riding her bike through the neighborhood, on her way to the small convenient store at the end of the street. She was trying to remember all the necessities she was going to buy when she heard a roaring in her ears and she flinched as a different scene flashed in front of her eyes.

On the same street she was on now a car appeared coming over the slight hill. The scene flashed to a side street where two boys were rollerblading down the road. A large truck was parked on the curb blocking the oncoming car from seeing the boys and vice versa. The boys skated into the road and were struck by the car.

Phoebe steadied her bike carefully and shook her head to clear the thoughts from her head when she saw the car coming over the hill. She quickly looked to the side street and saw, to her horror, the two boys rollerblading exactly as she had seen just moments before. Frantically she sped her bike up and coasted straight toward them and the car. "No wait!" She screamed at them as she skidded right in front of the boys preventing them from rollerblading into the street, but just barely missing the car which honked at her. Phoebe slid her bike carefully to a stop beside the boys who were asking over and over again if she was okay. She was, she hadn't even fallen over, but she was stunned by what had happened. It couldn't have been true… Phoebe forced a smile to the two boys and assured them that everything was fine. She was about to get back on her bike when her cell phone began to vibrate.

"Phoebe Halliwell." She answered.
"This is the Bay Area Hospital, your sister Prudence Halliwell was brought in after a fight…" That was all Phoebe heard before assuring the caller she would be there in fifteen minutes.

San Francisco Police Department

Andy walked into the forensic department, his blue eyes scouring the area for Franklin. Franklin glanced up from his computer and caught sight of Andy approaching him.

"Trudeau." He greeted.

"Franklin. Have you found anything?" Andy asked, looking hopefully at his computer for a DNA match or anything that would be remotely helpful in putting this nutcase behind bars.

"The DNA recovered does not solely belong to the victim, but there may not be enough to give us a match. It is being processed now." Franklin explained, passing some of the files to Andy to look over.

"And the fingerprints?" He asked, flipping through the pages for anything new.

"The machine only picked up three points to match and you need at least five on a single person to press an accusation." Franklin responded. "I can print out a list of all the people that match those three points in the area, but it won't narrow your search down by much." He added.

Andy ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Go ahead and do that to add to the file." He replied, tossing the file back down on the table. Franklin nodded and turned back to his computer. A few moments later the printer started up. As Andy sat watching paper after paper shoot out of the printer his phone went off. He looked at the number and recognized it as Darryl's. "Trudeau." He answered.

"Where are you, Trudeau? We have a meeting with the Captain in ten minutes." Darryl replied sounding exasperated.

"Just picking up the files from Franklin." Andy explained as Franklin paper-clipped all the pages together and stuck them in the file.

"Make it quick." Darryl responded, hanging up. Andy placed his cell back in his pocket and took the file Franklin was handing him. He said goodbye and met Darryl outside the Captain's office.

Twenty minutes later Andy was on his way to Bay General Hospital to meet with Dr. Gordon. He was to take all the files in hope that Dr. Gordon could find something that had been overlooked. He entered the hospital and pushed his way to the front of the receptionist's desk.

"I'm here to see Dr. Gordon." Andy told the current receptionist. She nodded and motioned for him to wait a second and she turned to try and help a particularly frantic family. Andy dropped all the files on the counter and persisted to look over them. There has to be something we missed….. It helped his concentration as the loud family was moved on. Whoever was after them were much quieter. His thoughts were interrupted only by the receptionist asking for his name. And then he froze as he heard his name called by someone, even though several years had passed, he recognized instantly. He almost didn't look up thinking he couldn't have heard correctly, but he did, and there she was. Prue.

Bay General Hospital

Phoebe met Prue at the at the nurse's station to pick her up after getting X-Rays done and leaving a statement with the police. Phoebe looked worriedly over her baby sister who had a brace on her left wrist.

"Are you okay?" Phoebe demanded, running up to stand in front of Prue.

Prue opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the doctor who had hung around to have a word with the elder Halliwell.

"Are you Phoebe Halliwell?" He asked, looking over Prue's file in his hands. Phoebe nodded and he continued. "Your sister has a hairline fracture in her wrist and must wear the brace for three weeks and then follow up with your doctor. She'll have bruising around the blow to her abdomen, but rest is the best way to recover. Avoid strenuous activities. We'll give you a prescription for pain medication for your wrist." The doctor explained quickly, with a glance at his watch. He passed the file to Phoebe. "Give this to the receptionist at the front desk and she'll check you out." With that he turned and left.

Phoebe stared after him, appearing annoyed at his sudden exit and turned to Prue for an explanation.

"He has several people backed up." Prue answered to her silent question as she pushed away from the desk and walked toward her elder sister. She nervously twirled a piece of her hair awaiting the interrogation over what happened.

"They told me you had gotten into a fight." Phoebe began, her tone a bit disapproving, but she didn't want to accuse without hearing it from Prue.

Prue nodded slightly, leading the way back to the front desk, carefully crossing her arms in front of her. She zoned out as her eldest sister began the lecturing about how fighting should be avoided for all sorts of reasons. As if she had never been in a fight. Prue didn't pay any attention until Phoebe pressed a specific question.

"Who was it that hit you?" She demanded, her eyes narrowed in anger. Prue could tell the anger wasn't directed at her, but toward the idea of anyone hitting her little sister.

"Don't worry about it, Pheebs. I kicked his ass and filed a statement already." Prue replied stopping in the short line behind the desk. Apparently, there was some trouble locating the family member of the group in the front, slowing the line down considerably.

Phoebe didn't look as if she wanted to let the subject go. She was silently fuming that anyone would hit Prue and was determined to find out who it was so she could deal with it herself. However, before she could say anything else, her phone began to go off again. She hesitated answering since she was now very close to the desk now that the other family had moved off, but it could be important.

Prue recognized the inner conflict and reached out to take her files. "Look, I can handle these, go take that call." She ordered lightly and with a roll of her eyes as Phoebe walked off to take the call. The people in front of her were, thankfully, quick and then she was next. She closed the space between her and the receptionist quickly, though slow enough not to trample the young man already at the desk. Prue didn't even cast him a glance in her haste to leave the hospital, she hated hospitals, and it was unlikely that he would have offered much conversation as he was immersed in the files in front of him.

Before the receptionist could ask, Prue spoke up. "Hey, I was told to check out here." The receptionist glanced at her before replying.

"I'll need your insurance card, ID, and payment." With that she turned to face the young man on Prue's left. "What's the name again?" The receptionist asked him and Prue followed her gaze as she dug through her purse for the necessary items and placed them on the counter before her.

He finally looked up from his files to the receptionist. "Inspector Andrew Trudeau. Homicide. Dr. Gordon's expecting me." He replied, showing her his police mark. The receptionist nodded, going to check with her superiors while grabbing Prue's documents.

Surprise flashed across Prue's eyes and she looked at the man closer as if disbelieving. Prue stood there silently wondering if she should say something to Andy or to keep silent. He apparently hadn't noticed her. Finally she couldn't help her curiosity from getting the better of her and she turned toward him.

"Andy?" She called, still looking as if she didn't believe it was him.

Andy turned around to look at who had called his name, the surprise evident in his eyes. "Prue?" He asked. "I don't believe it…. How are you?" All the frustration with the case flew from his mind and he smiled as he realized Prue was no less surprised as he was. In fact she appeared at a loss.

"Uhhh…. I'm good." She replied somewhat awkwardly, beginning her old habit of picking at her cuticles. "How are you?" Prue asked, studying him. He hadn't changed much… He was still handsome, charming, and his eyes…. She had to stifle a sigh and look away to keep herself calm. Andy could have laughed at her if he hadn't been in danger of doing the same thing.

"Fine… I just can't believe I'm running into you." He responded quickly. Andy suddenly frowned slightly as he began to wonder why exactly she was here. Phoebe and Piper were like his sisters and he sincerely hoped they were okay. His eyes flickered to Prue's wrist, which she was obviously favoring. Prue read his unspoken question and bit her lip slightly. She wasn't particularly keen to tell her ex-boyfriend that she'd been in a fight. Andy cared so much about her that he would take the idea about as well as Phoebe.

"Yeah… I got into a fight." Prue admitted, holding her left arm up a bit.

Andy's eyes narrowed with worry. "Are you okay?" He asked, the worry evident in his tone. His gaze flickered over her and he was relieved to see that she didn't appear too hurt. His thoughts moved on to why Prue would be in a fight with anyone. She didn't start fights so they would have attacked her first and that thought didn't sit well with him.

Prue smiled gratefully at his worry, but nodded that she was fine. "Yeah, you should have seen what he looked like after I got done with him. You wouldn't be so worried for me." She laughed, exaggerating just a little even though Roger had definitely come off worse.

"He?" Andy repeated, his worry growing. Women were barely ever attacked by men just because they got mad, it was usually because the woman wouldn't give them something they wanted. More often than not, a relationship. Andy's eyes looked over at her wrists again and could already see faint bruising around them as if whoever had grabbed her had tried to get control of her.

Prue frowned, recognizing her mistake and inwardly cursing at herself. "He's not going to be bothering me again. Honestly." She promised, offering him a faint smile. She hastily changed the subject, not wanting to continue this conversation on Roger. "So, uh, what are you doing here?"

Andy, a little reluctantly, dropped the subject. He was sure that, at least, Prue wasn't the type of person to put up with any crap. She wasn't afraid of handling a tough situation. "Murder investigation." He finally explained pointing toward the files that were still on the counter.

Prue didn't really know what to say about that and she looked down at her hands as an awkward silence fell between the two. Before she could come up with anything to say the receptionist came back and placed her insurance card, ID, and credit card in front of her as well as her release papers and a receipt.

"Just sign, here." She pointed to the dotted line on the receipt. "And here." A point to the bottom of the release papers. The receptionist then turned to Andy as Prue picked up the pen and hastily signed her name. "Dr. Gordon's office is to the left and down the hall. He's with a patient right now, but you're welcome to wait outside his office." With that she turned to leave, taking Prue's signed papers with her. "You're free to go." She called over her shoulder to Prue.

"Thank you." Andy returned and Prue echoed. There was another moment of silence before Andy put his hand out formally. "Well… it's good seeing you Prue."

"Yeah. You too, Andy. Take care." She answered and they both began to turn their separate ways. Prue was looking slightly upset at the formality and Andy apparently felt the same as he turned back to her.

"You know… your ride is busy." He nodded toward where Phoebe was pacing, still on the phone with whoever had called. He wasn't completely sure Phoebe was even Prue's ride, but it sounded good. "And Dr. Gordon's busy…. Can I buy you a black cup of coffee while we wait?" He asked hopefully. Andy smiled wider as he realized Prue couldn't quite hide her pleasure that he'd prolonged the reunion.

"Sure." How could I say no? Prue thought, eagerly following him through the hospital, though careful to keep her emotions in check so as not to embarrass herself. Andy watched her closely thinking that she hadn't changed either. He remembered her eyes the most and was pleased to see the sparkle was just the same. "So, how are you an Inspector already?" She wondered curiously, breaking Andy's reverie.

"I'm just interning, but I get the title. If all goes well, once I graduate I can step right in." He explained. By this time the two had approached the coffee machine. "Of course, in any other city I'd be called a detective." Andy joked, unable to keep from gloating just a little.

Prue smiled and rolled her eyes. "Hmmm… Inspector's classier." She stated, as Andy put the coins into the machine.

"Liking it better already."

"Your dad must be so proud." Prue thought aloud.

"Third generation. You bet he's happy." He agreed, then decided to switch the topic toward her. "So how about you? You taking the world by storm?"

Prue thought over the recent events. The money issues, Phoebe suddenly coming back, her fight with Roger, more money problems, and the fact that she was still living in the same house she grew up in with her two sisters. Even if Piper tried to hide most of the money problems from her, she still knew about them and even felt partially responsible. "Uh… well, I'm still living in the Manor and taking classes at Golden State University. But on the plus side, I was awarded an on-campus job as the college's magazine photographer. It looks good…" Prue shrugged; there wasn't much to really say.

"Perfect." He replied, giving her the coffee.

"I thought you moved to Portland…" Prue trailed off pointedly.

"I'm back. With Dad's reputation down here it was much easier to get accepted as an intern. He pulled a few strings and got me an internship as 'Inspector,' instead of starting at the bottom." Andy explained with a half-smile.

Prue looked thoughtful. "Well, that's handy…" She commented, her thoughts invariably going to what Roger had told her earlier. 'It's all about who you know.' Her eyes darkened at the thought and she narrowed her eyes in determination. He wasn't going to be right…

Andy watched her curiously, recognizing some sort of inner conflict and he wondered what he had said that would trigger it. He was about to say something when a third party joined their conversation.

"Prue? You ready to go yet?" Phoebe called over the noise of the busy hospital.

Andy looked toward Phoebe before his eyes flickered back to Prue who had turned to look at Phoebe as well. "Uh, I'll talk to you soon?" He asked Prue with a hopeful smile.

Prue smiled at the thought and nodded. "Please." She watched Andy turn to leave for his meeting with Dr. Gordon before joining Phoebe a distant look in her blue eyes.

Phoebe, being Phoebe, couldn't stop herself from pointing it out and teasing her little sister as they finally left the hospital.

Quake

After leaving the hospital, Phoebe and Prue caught a taxi to take them back to Golden State University to pick up Prue's car. Phoebe insisted on driving, much to Prue's displeasure, and took her little sister to the popular restaurant, Quake, to get a drink. Prue had tried to call Piper to see if she wanted to meet them, but there was no answer and Prue decided that she must be out with Jeremy. The conversation remained formal and polite as the waitress brought out Prue's much-needed coffee and Phoebe's shot of tequila. After an awkward moment of silence Phoebe began to explain about what she had read the night before. Melinda Warren, their powers, and the prophecy of the Charmed Ones or The Power of Three.

"Umm… Phoebe?" Prue began hesitantly. "You do realize that you sound insane…" She pointed out after Phoebe trailed off, expecting a response.

Phoebe rolled her eyes before replying. "Last night I would have said the same thing, but I'm telling you there is no other explanation for me having seen that car about to hit those boys." Phoebe reiterated, trying desperately not to lose her patience. "I really think we are the Charmed Ones."

Prue stared at her for several long moments, trying to decide if Phoebe was actually being serious or was just trying to trick her. "The what?" She asked, figuring that was a safe enough question.

"The Charmed Ones. Three sisters with their own unique power. See the future, move objects, and stop time." Phoebe explained again while Prue just stared at her as if she was crazy. "Are you telling me, nothing strange happened to you today? You didn't freeze or move anything?" She pressed hopefully.

Prue hesitated a moment before answering. Her thoughts invariably flew back to her fight with Roger and how he had been thrown off her. "Do 'objects' include people?" Prue questioned hesitantly. She couldn't believe she was actually going along with this conversation. She hadn't believed in magic since she was six and Phoebe told her that Santa Claus wasn't real.

Phoebe thought the question over carefully. "I suppose, why?"

"Well, when I was, uh, fighting… He tried to hold me down, but he was thrown away from me. There wasn't anyone close enough to have pulled him off." She admitted slowly before she narrowed her eyes, convinced that Phoebe was trying to trick her again. "No, no, no. I'm sure I kicked him or something."

"Prue, what is it going to take for me to convince you that I'm not trying to trick you? Just once can't you trust me?" Phoebe demanded in frustration. She ran a hand through her hair and turned away from Prue.

Prue rolled her eyes in response. "Need I remind you that you've never really given me a reason to trust you?" Prue stated as much as asked only receiving a glare from Phoebe in return. "So where is my cream?" Prue wondered, mostly to herself as she looked around for it. Her eyes flickered to land on the cup of cream that was on the other side of Phoebe. It immediately began to move toward her. Phoebe looked up and watched at it passed her and stopped next to Prue, who was staring at it as if it was going to attack her. Prue started to say something, but stopped again as the cream disappeared from the cup and appeared in her coffee.

"You were saying?" Phoebe responded with a grin of triumph

Prue wasn't listening, still in shock. "Oh my god…" She whispered, her eyes never leaving her coffee.

Phoebe laughed teasingly at Prue's reaction. "Hmmm… this must mean that Piper can freeze time." She commented thoughtfully.

Prue took several deep breaths to try and calm herself, but to no avail. Her eyes landed on Phoebe's shot of tequila which she made a grab for and downed it in one gulp.

Phoebe stared at her, raising her eyebrows in concern. "Oh, sweetie. Are you okay?" She asked, watching Prue carefully.

"No, I am not okay. As if I didn't already have enough complications in my life!" Prue muttered, dropping her head into her hands. She didn't want to admit that when she felt the power course through her that it had felt so right. Just like Phoebe, she knew she was meant to do this.

Phoebe smiled and stood up, pulling Prue up after her. "Come on. We'll go get your prescription and then we'll have to figure out how to break it to Piper." She laughed cheerily despite the look Prue shot her.

~PO3~

After paying for the drinks, Phoebe and Prue walked to the nearby pharmacy. Phoebe was slightly ahead with Prue trailing after her, still partly in shock. After awhile of silence Prue's curiosity got the better of her and she asked for some elaboration from Phoebe.

"When I was looking through The Book of Shadows I saw these wood carvings… They looked like something out of a Bosch painting. All these terrifying images of three women battling different incarnations of evil." Phoebe was explaining.

"I thought witches were evil… I'm not evil!" Prue insisted, appearing distressed.

Phoebe smiled reassuringly to her little sister. "Don't worry; a witch can be either good or evil. A good witch follows the Wiccan rede 'An it harm none, do what ye will' while A bad witch or a warlock has but one goal. To kill good witches and obtain their powers. Unfortunately, they look like regular people. They could be anyone, anywhere." Phoebe clarified, putting her sister's mind at ease, at least partially.

"So how exactly do we fit into this?" Prue asked curiously.

"Well, in the first wood carving they were in slumber, but in the next they were battling some kind of warlock. I think that as long as we were in the dark about our powers, we were safe. Not anymore" She finished, glancing a little worriedly toward Prue that Prue missed as she studied the ground in thought.

The Taxi

Piper and Jeremy were sitting in the back of a cab on their way to Jeremy's house. They had just come from a Chinese restaurant and Piper was holding the fortune cookies that they had received upon paying. She was biting her lip nervously deciding whether to bring up her freezing thing to Jeremy. Finally she decided she had better use an around-about method.

"Has anything weird or unexplainable ever happened to you?" Piper asked slowly, refusing to look at Jeremy. Jeremy looked confused at the sudden question, but just shrugged it off.

"Sure, it's called luck or fate. Some call it miracles." He replied, his eyes not leaving Piper. He could tell she was distressed about something. "Why? What happened?" Jeremy questioned gently.

"Never mind. Even if I could tell you, you'd swear I was crazy. Open your fortune cookie." She ordered, forcing a smile and offering him the other cookie.

Jeremy studied her for a moment before taking the cookie and shifting positions. "Alright." He agreed and opened his cookie, pulling out the tiny slip of paper inside it. He forced his face to keep stoic and read it aloud. "Soon you will be on top." He nodded to himself as if he liked the idea and watched Piper's reaction out of the corner of his eyes.

"It doesn't say that." Piper accused, glaring at him playfully.

"Yes it does." Jeremy insisted, smiling innocently. Piper, still doubting, grabbed the paper out of his hand and began to read it. "Is it a bad thing?"

"Of the world. Soon you will be on top of the world." She corrected, rolling her chocolate brown eyes and throwing the paper back at him.

Jeremy laughed and got the cab driver's attention. "Hey, can you make a left on seventh please?" He asked rhetorically, pointing to the street.

"You got it." The driver responded and the cab turned in that direction.

"Seventh? I thought we were going to your place." Piper replied, looking at Jeremy quizzically.

"We are. But you reminded me of something. I want to show the old Bowing Building. The view of the Bay Bridge. It's amazing." Jeremy explained, flashing a charming smile back at Piper.

The Pharmacy

Prue and Phoebe were standing outside the desk of the Pharmacy, waiting on Prue's prescriptions. Phoebe handed the signed paper to the Pharmacist and he nodded to them.

"I'll be right back with your prescriptions." He answered and turned toward the back.

"Thanks." Prue offered, turning to look back at Phoebe for a moment. She suddenly became aware of the splitting headache that was now throbbing. She placed her hand to her head and turned back to face the pharmacist. "Uh, excuse me, where do you keep the aspirin?" Prue asked, trying her best not to let her thoughts wonder back to the witchy thing. It just made her head hurt more.

The Pharmacist looked up at the signs and pointed. "Aisle Three." He replied and disappeared into the back of the store.

Prue turned around and headed straight for Aisle Three. Phoebe turned around half-worried that maybe Prue was hurt more severely in her fight than she let on, but somehow she figured that wasn't the problem.

"Chamomile Tea works great for headaches." Phoebe suggested in an attempt to help.

"Not for this one it won't." Prue replied, her other hand gingerly touching her head as she turned into the aisle and began searching for the bottles of aspirin.

Phoebe smiled in understanding. It didn't have anything to do with the fight. She was upset about the witch thing. Phoebe, being Phoebe, couldn't pass up an opportunity to taunt her baby sister. It was just how their relationship went. "You know… I'm not afraid of our powers. I mean, everyone inherits something from their family, right?" Phoebe pointed out casually, picking up random bottles of medication off the shelves in order to read them before putting them back.

"Yeah… money, antiques, a strong disposition. That's what normal people inherit." Prue countered, her voice beginning to rise in frustration. She was so confused and Phoebe wasn't helping her sort it out.

"Who wants to be normal when we can be special?" Phoebe asked teasingly.

"I want to be normal. I want my life to be… you know isn't this Aisle Three?" Prue snapped her voice a pitch higher, as she spun around to look at the medication behind her.

"Hmmm… I guess being normal works out well for you, huh? I mean, you have your college planned out, a job, connections… What is it, Prue? Destiny getting in the way of your perfect life?" Phoebe questioned rhetorically, clearly enjoying the stress she was adding to Prue.

"Do you see any Aspirin?" Prue pleaded, choosing to ignore Phoebe, though her patience was clearly at its end.

"I see chamomile tea." Phoebe observed lightly.

Prue clenched her fists and turned to face Phoebe. "Okay, Phoebe. I have tried. I really have, but apparently the part of your brain that was meant to take a hint was not wired together properly. I do not want to discuss this with you. Your childish taunting is infuriating to work with and on top of that you're telling me to believe in something that you told me didn't exist when I was six. When I was supposed to believe it, you ruined it. Like you ruined everything else. Leave me alone, Phoebe, because all this talk of magic and powers and evil is giving me a migraine!" Prue yelled, not caring in the slightest who heard. By the end of her speech her rant had turned more into a plea for her older sister to understand.

"Then move your headache out of your mind." She retorted crossing her arms expectantly.

Prue glared at her older sister, her eyes blazing in barely contained anger due mostly from disappointment. A bottle of aspirin shot off the shelf and flew toward Prue, who accidently caught it. Prue stared down at it in confusion, distracting her thoughts from Phoebe.

A light bulb seemed to light up in Phoebe. "You move things when you're upset." Phoebe observed triumphantly.

"Just drop it, Phoebe." Prue hissed, looking as if she was about to throw the bottle of aspirin at Phoebe.

Phoebe crossed her arms in defiance. "Roger…" She taunted and the whole shelf of aspirin flew to land in the floor. She looked thoughtfully from Prue to the aspirin that Prue was picking up off the floor.
"Now let's talk about Dad and see what happens." Phoebe suggested rhetorically.

"He's dead, Phoebe." Prue retorted sharply.

"No, he's moved from New York, but he's very much alive." Phoebe countered back.

"He isn't to me. He left us. He cares nothing for us so he might as well be." Prue argued, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"So, now we get to the real reason you're so upset with me. It has nothing do with any of this. You're mad he left you, you're mad I left to try to find him, and you're mad I came back. Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad!" Phoebe jeered. In response everything on the shelves in Aisle Three flew through the air with a loud crash. Phoebe looked around at the destruction of Aisle Three. She glanced at Prue satisfied. "Feel better?" She asked.

Prue looked around and smiled softly. "Lots." She allowed.

"The Book of Shadows said our powers would grow." Phoebe explained, looking impressed and dropping the taunting act.

Prue's smile widened. "Grow to what?" Prue asked and started laughing. Phoebe quickly joined her. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

The Bowing Building

Jeremy pulled a half-reluctant Piper into the Bowing Building. He lightly kicked the door open and cheerfully turned back to her. "Well, here we are." He told her stepping aside so Piper could enter.

Just outside the door Piper hesitated. "I don't care how amazing the view is. I'm not going in there." She stated defiantly, looking around at the dark shadows and the old creaky walls doubtfully.

Jeremy smiled and took her hand gently pulling her along with him. "Come on, Come on. I have a surprise inside." He explained. They entered the old elevator and Jeremy lowered the door. With a press of a button the elevator began to move slowly upward. He stepped back to join Piper calmly. "You're going to love this. I bet you'll tell Phoebe and Prue the moment you see them." Jeremy added.

Piper suddenly looked a little confused and she turned to look at Jeremy quizzically. "I never mentioned Phoebe came home." She stated, wondering who he'd gotten the information from before she had a chance to tell him.

"Whoops…" He muttered and stuck his hand in his back pocket feigning casualness. The next second he had spun around with a knife pointed straight at Piper, who jumped slightly in surprise.

"What is that?" Piper asked, taking a step back, but not really frightened since she was with Jeremy.

"It's your surprise." He answered twirling the knife in his hand and taking a small step toward her.

"Jeremy, stop it… you're scaring me." She ordered, looking aggravated. He continued to advance. "Damn it! I'm serious!" She snapped, taking on the voice she used against Prue when her little sister got her nerves.

Jeremy grinned, enjoying her ignorance and kept advancing slowly. "So am I. See I've waited six months for this. Ever since Grams went to the hospital. I've known for quite some time that as soon as the old witch croaked, all your powers would be released. Powers that would reveal themselves as soon as the four of you got back together again. All that was needed was for Phoebe to return." He explained.

A look of horror flashed across Piper's face as she tried to circle around to get as far away from him as the elevator would allow. After a few moments she regained her voice. "It was you wasn't it? You killed all those women." Piper stated, almost in disbelief.

"Not women…. Witches." Jeremy clarified.

"Why?" Piper asked in a small voice.

Jeremy held up his other hand and flames shot out of his fingertips. "It was the only way to receive their powers…" He explained grinning. His face began to contort and his voice became deeper and darker as he finished. "…And now I want yours." He raised the knife above his head ready to plunge it into her as he had so many others.

Piper screamed and instinctively threw her hands up in front of her. Just before it hit her, everything, including him froze. She stood there in shock for a split moment before looking desperately for a way out. "Okay… Think, Stay calm… Think, think, think. I gotta get outta here." She muttered to herself seeing her only escape being to climb out of the frozen elevator. She carefully moved around Jeremy, watching him closely in case he unfroze before climbing out onto the next level. Just as she set foot on the floor Jeremy unfroze and grabbed her leg, trying to pull her back in. Piper screamed again and reached for the stairs to grab on to. As her grip on the stairs was about to give way she reached for a long piece of wood, which she turned around and hit him across the head with. Jeremy fell to floor unconscious and Piper ran off as fast as she could for home.

The Halliwell Manor

Prue, immediately upon entering the Manor, ran through the house searching for Piper while Phoebe made her way to the answering machine to see if Piper had left a message. Phoebe clicked the button and Roger's voice filled the room.

"Prue, its Roger. I've decided to forgive you for starting the fight. Seriously, let's talk." The machine clicked off and the room was left in silence until Prue came walking in, holding a white cat formerly seen at the aforementioned victim's apartment.

"Well, Piper is definitely not home unless she's turned into a cat." Prue called, putting the cat down on the ground.

Phoebe glanced down at the cat curiously. "How'd you get in, huh?" She asked the cat rhetorically before she looked back up at Prue. "Piper didn't leave a message, but Roger did." Phoebe announced silently fuming at the guy's nerve.

"Oh…" Prue murmured, avoiding eye contact and looking down at the cat.

"If he calls again I want to know about. We'll call your boyfriend and get him to file a restraining order, 'kay?" Phoebe suggested, though her tone of voice clearly stated that Prue didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Prue nodded but frowned at Phoebe's choice of words. "First of all, Andy is not my boyfriend. Second, I'm already moving classes so I'll have no contact whatsoever. You've got nothing to worry about." Prue explained.

Phoebe rolled her eyes teasingly at Prue's denial. "You're going to be going out with him by the end of the weekend." She predicted without a hint of doubt.

"Premonition?" Prue asked curiously.

"Intuition." Phoebe corrected.

There was a moment silence before both sisters turned upon hearing the front door open. Piper pushed through the open doorway and quickly closed the door behind her and locked it.

"Piper?" Prue called in surprise and worry.

Piper immediately looked to Prue, falling into her big sister orders. "Lock the doors, check the windows. We don't have a lot of time." She ordered before turning to Phoebe who was watching her intently. "Phoebe, in the Book of Shadows did it say anything about how to get rid of a…"

"Warlock?" Phoebe guessed, her eyes darkening in worry, mostly for her little sisters.

Prue didn't wait for any more instructions. She took off around the house, checking all the windows and locking the back door.

The Bowing Building

Jeremy regained consciousness in the elevator where Piper had left him and picked up his knife. He climbed out and ran outside. "I'll get you, you bitch." He muttered to himself as he ran down the street.

The Halliwell Manor

Piper and Prue met at the bottom of the stairs after checking all the windows. Prue now had her camera strapped around her neck, which she was fiddling nervously with. "Maybe we should call the cops." Prue suggested hesitantly, reaching out for the phone, though she looked to Piper for permission.

Piper shook her head immediately and grabbed Prue's hands to stop her. "And tell them what? That we're witches? That some freak with powers beyond comprehension is trying to kill us? Even if the cops did come, they'd be no match for Jeremy and we'd be next." Piper argued rationally.

Before they could argue more about it, Phoebe appeared at the top of the stairs. "I found the answer." Phoebe called confidently, disappearing back up the stairs. Prue and Piper exchanged a quick glance before Piper grabbed Prue's hand and pulled her up the stairs.

~PO3~

In the attic Phoebe already had everything set up. A low table sat in the middle with a pot, ingredients, and The Book of Shadows opened to a certain page. There were candles set up in a circle around it. Phoebe was getting the last few needed objects from the trunk and Piper pulled Prue into the circle where they sat down. Prue and Piper cast a nervous glance toward each other as Phoebe came back and joined them. Prue and Piper, skimmed over the ritual they were about to perform and looked to make sure they had everything.

"Alright… so we've placed the nine candles anointed with oil and spices in a circle." Prue observed looking around them.

"Wait… I only count eight." Piper interrupted, counting and recounting.

"Oh, you forgot this one!" Phoebe countered, holding up a small birthday candle for them to see.

"A birthday candle?" Piper asked in disbelief.

Prue almost laughed at her tone of voice, and Phoebe quickly lit it on fire. "I guess Grams was a little low on witch supplies." Phoebe offered in an attempt to lighten the mood. She hesitated as a flash of light lit up around her. "Okay, Prue. We're gonna have to set some ground rules. No taking pictures while we're having a witchy crisis. Witchy time is not photography time!" She snapped with a roll of her eyes.

"What are you even doing with a camera right now?" Piper demanded, staring at Prue as if she was crazy. Now certainly wasn't the best time for photography.

Prue glared at her sisters defiantly. "It makes me feel better, okay?" She returned, reluctantly letting the camera fall loosely around her neck and crossing her arms across her chest instead. Her eyes flickered over the open Book of Shadows. "Okay, next we need the poppet." Prue continued a little disgruntled as she looked from sister to sister.

Piper stared at Prue for another moment before speaking. "Got it." She called and reached down beside her to pull it up. She sat it in front of her on the table.

Phoebe placed the lit birthday candle into the pot. "I think we're ready." Phoebe announced, changing positions.

"First, I'll make it stronger." Piper interrupted and took a rose that Prue was offering her and placed it on top of the poppet. "Your love will wither and depart from my life and my heart. Let me be, Jeremy, and go away forever." She chanted and pressed the rose into the poppet before placing it into the pot. "Alright, the spell's complete."

"Let's just hope it works…" Prue whispered as the rose and poppet began to smoke. The smoke rolled over the sides of the pot to fill the attic, Phoebe and Piper watched intently in silence while Prue was restraining herself from taking a cool picture. Suddenly, it exploded, catching on fire and causing the three sisters to jump in surprise.

~PO3~

Jeremy, who was running down the street toward the Halliwell Manor stopped and screamed in pain. He began writhing in agony as hundreds of thorns tore through his skin.

~PO3~

The sisters were cleaning up the stuff for the ritual when Phoebe picked up the pot and was thrown into a premonition.

Jeremy was writhing in pain, holding on tightly to a chain link fence. But he shook it off and continued down the road.

Phoebe stood up frantically. "Wait… It didn't work." She yelled after them. Piper and Prue turned back to face Phoebe looking confused.

"Huh?" Prue asked softly.

"The spell, it didn't work." Phoebe clarified

"How do you know?" Piper asked grabbing tightly onto Prue's arm.

"When I touched the pot, I had a flash. I saw Jeremy." She explained.

"You can do that?" Prue asked in surprise.

"He's on his way here." Phoebe finished running towards them. Identical fear flashed across all three of their faces before Piper pushed out of the attic, pulling Prue along with her. Phoebe close behind.

They all ran to door and Prue reached out and opened it. "Come on." She called, not realizing immediately that Jeremy was already here. Piper screamed and jumped back in fear while Phoebe stared in horror, running toward Prue. Prue spun around to face Jeremy and immediately tried to back away.

"Prue!" Phoebe screamed, grabbing tightly onto her little sister and pulling her away from Jeremy just as he lunged forward with his athame. Phoebe pushed Prue farther back behind her and into Piper's arms.

"Hello, ladies." Jeremy greeted stepping into the Manor, twirling the knife threateningly in front of them. He was none-too-disappointed by his two previous setbacks.

The sisters slowly moved as one, backing away toward the stairs. Prue used her power to send him flying back into the wall as he got a little too close to Phoebe for comfort.

"Piper, Prue. Get up the stairs now!" Phoebe ordered while he was distracted. She felt her two younger sisters turn and run toward the stairs. Jeremy, recovering quickly, threw his knife toward the departing two sisters.

Prue screamed as the knife flew toward her. Piper threw her hands out in fear and the knife stopped just inches away from Prue's camera. Prue looked at it thoughtfully before turning flashing eyes on Jeremy as Piper grabbed the knife and tossed it to the ground. "You almost broke my camera!" She yelled in disbelief and anger.

Jeremy was thrown into the wall by another blast of telekinesis from Prue followed by Phoebe picking up a nearby chair and hitting him over the head with it. Phoebe immediately turned and ran up next to her sisters. She motioned for Piper to move on up as she grabbed Prue's arms and pulled her up after her. "Prue, forget about your camera and get up the stairs!" She hissed, her voice strained from dragging Prue along.

"This camera was expensive!" Prue retorted, but she obediently ran past Phoebe on up the stairs. "On the plus side, you were right. Our powers really are growing." She added cheerfully when both she and Phoebe had met Piper in the attic.

Phoebe helped Piper move furniture in front of the attic door. "Put as many things against the door as we can." Piper directed, while her and Phoebe pushed a heavy dresser against it. Prue grabbed a chair and sat it on top before they all backed as far away as possible. Phoebe in the middle with Prue slightly in front of her but to the left and Piper on Phoebe's right.

From outside the door they could hear Jeremy's taunting voice echo through. "Can't take me now, Witches. My powers are stronger than yours." His voice deepening into the demonic tone, followed by a laugh. "Do you think a chair will stop me?" He asked as the chair flew away from the door. "Do you think a dresser will stop me?" The dresser slid away from the door to slam against the wall. "Haven't you witches figured it out? Nothing… nothing will keep us away."

Phoebe again pulled a reluctant Prue back behind her while Piper glanced at Prue in fear. "What do we do? We're trapped!" She shouted in panic, looking for direction from Phoebe. Before Phoebe could say anything the door exploded and all three sisters screamed and jumped back more.

Prue grabbed Phoebe's hand in one and Phoebe, catching on, grabbed Piper's hand. "What about the Spirit Board?" Prue suggested, her eyes looking hopefully toward Phoebe and Piper.

"The inscription on the back…" Piper realized and glanced at Phoebe who nodded.

"The Power of Three will set us free." Prue yelled as a circle of fire surrounded them.

"We have to say it together." Phoebe ordered with a glance over her shoulder at her sisters before turning back to face Jeremy.

"The Power of Three will set us free." They all chanted over and over as the circle of fire turned into a strong wind.

"I am not the only one! I am one of millions! In places you can't even imagine! In forms you would never believe! We are hell on this earth. And you will never be… Free!" He shouted and blew up as the sisters chanted one last time.

Silence fell over the attic and was only broken when Prue glanced up at them smiling slightly. "Hmmm… I rather like this Power of Three." She mused, tilting her head innocently to the side when Phoebe and Piper cast her funny looks.

~PO3~

The next morning Prue exited the Manor and reached down for the paper on their steps. As she stood back up she heard a familiar voice call.

"Good Morning." She looked up to find Andy getting out of his car, holding a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

Prue smiled and walked down the remaining steps toward him. "Hey! This is a surprise." Prue greeted cheerfully.

"I've been feeling really guilty about that bad cup of coffee. I just wanted to make it up to you." Andy explained, closing what was left of the distance between them.

"So, you brought me a good cup of coffee?" Prue guessed, eyeing the cup in his hand.

He followed her gaze down to the cup. "Oh this? No this is mine." He clarified and then began to look slightly nervous. "I, uh, just wanted to ask you out to dinner. Unless of course, you're afraid." Andy added, watching her closely.

Prue blushed ever-so-slightly and bit her lip nervously. "Afraid of what?" She asked.

"Oh, you know, having too good a time, stirring up old memories, rekindling an old flame." He joked casually.

Prue nodded slightly as he spoke as if she agreed. "Hmm…Good point. Better not." Prue replied, going along with the joke.

"Okay." Andy responded lightly and then continued unfazed. "Friday night; 8 o'clock?" Prue took several moments of silence to pretend to think his offer over. A faint smile flashed across Andy's face as he recognized her high school habit. The mischievous look in her eyes had always been a give-away.

"I think I can work you in." Prue finally answered. "But… just in case, I think I should get your number." She added with a sly smile.

"Sure." Andy agreed as he pulled one of his business cards out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Although, I can't guarantee I'll have another time. You see, I'm a very busy person." He continued, straightening himself up as if he was extremely important. His tone was serious, but his eyes gave away his sarcasm.

Prue rolled her eyes as she took the card from him and laughed softly. "I'll keep that in mind. In fact, maybe I should thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to stop by." She countered, taking a step toward him.

Andy glanced at his watch and saw he needed to head on to work. He leaned forward so that he could whisper in her ear. "How about you thank me on Friday?" He suggested.

"I might be able to arrange that." Prue allowed softly.

Andy gave her a light kiss on the cheek before stepping back. "Take care, Prue." He called softly, turning to leave.

"Bye, Andy." She echoed and then looked back as the door to the Manor opened and her two sisters walked out, Piper in the lead. Phoebe was looking smug as her prediction was sure to have occurred and Piper had a teasing glint in her eyes as they flickered between Prue and Andy.

"I told you I heard a man's voice." Piper spoke in an I-told-you-so voice. The two other sisters joined Prue as Andy reached his car. He looked up and narrowed his eyes in surprise upon seeing Phoebe holding the white cat he'd seen in that murdered woman's apartment. He just shrugged to himself and headed to work.

"Oh, look. It's Andy. What a surprise." Phoebe replied sarcastically, looking from Prue to Andy and back again.

"What did he want?" Piper asked excitedly. Prue smiled wider, but she hesitated.

"He asked you out, didn't he?" Phoebe pressed, giving Prue a teasing look.

"I didn't say that…" Prue stammered crossing her arms while her older sisters smiled knowingly.

"What did you say?" Phoebe demanded grinning.

Prue opened her mouth to answer but Piper beat her to it. "She said yes, of course. Prue never could say no to Andy, remember?" Piper reminded Phoebe, still using her teasing voice.

"Oh, that is so not true." Prue argued, glaring at them.

Phoebe and Piper raised their eyebrows pointedly while Prue's defiance faded a little in silent agreement. "It's okay, sis. Andy's always been sweet." Phoebe replied, putting her free arm around Prue and steering her back up the steps.

Prue suddenly frowned slightly and her eyes flickered from Phoebe to Piper worriedly. "What about the warlocks? How are my dates supposed to work out with them popping in randomly?"

"We'll worry about that when the time comes, but at least our lives won't be boring." Phoebe assured her, ever the optimist.

"But they'll never be the same…" Prue reminded them.

"And this is a bad thing?" Phoebe countered.

"Not necessarily, but it could be." Prue pointed out.

"What are we going to do?" Piper asked, her eyes turned to Phoebe as well.

"What can't we do?" Phoebe retorted, stroking the cat softly.

Piper and Prue laughed in agreement. "This should be interesting." Piper remarked, walking into the house followed closely by Phoebe and finally Prue. Prue looked back at the door about to close it when she smiled mischievously. Instead she flicked her hand and it magically swung shut.