December 2002

"Take her," he ordered, ignoring the pleas of the woman lying on the bed amidst bloodstained sheets. "She is my heir and will be your next master. I want her to be brought up properly – the way the next Source should."

"Cole, don't do this," the woman pleaded. She strained against the shackles that bound her to the bed, but Cole never looked in her direction. "She is my child as well!"

"That is the very reason why he is taking your daughter from you, my Queen," the Seer said, gently taking the baby into her arms. "He fears your ancestry will influence the child to become good."

"No... let me hold her, please!"

The Seer turned her gaze to Cole, who nodded once. Without a word, the Seer swept out of the room, the baby's cries echoing all throughout the manor.

January 2003

"Your child, my Lord," the Seer said, drawing back the blankets to reveal a healthy baby girl. "Her progress is astounding. I am sure she will make you proud."

Cole frowned slightly and then smiled. He never dreamed that his wish to become the father of Phoebe's child would come true. Yet there she was, proof of his and Phoebe's union. He could see that his daughter resembled him in every way, except for her mouth. She had Phoebe's mouth.

Without a word Cole took his daughter in his arms. She let out a gentle coo and snuggled deeper into his arms. He smiled and planted a kiss on the baby's forehead. "Has she been given a name?"

The Seer gave him a confused look, but changed it when he threw her a sharp glare. "Yes, my Lord. Lucy Colleen Turner. I thought it had already met with your approval."

"Lucy Colleen," he mouthed. "Yes, yes it does. And did Phoebe have any objections?"

"No. She did suggest a name, but I knew you wouldn't accept it, so I told her you would think about it," the Seer replied, taking a bottle from the nearby table. "Her formula, my Lord."

Cole took the bottle and placed the teat near little Lucy's mouth. Immediately the baby latched onto the bottle and began sucking the formula greedily. Without warning, a warm feeling spread all over him, and he continued smiling as his daughter fed. When she was finished, he handed the bottle to the Seer.

From the corner of his eye he could see that the time was near. He held Lucy tighter, and he noticed that she was clutching tightly to his suit jacket. Cole didn't want to let her go; this was the only time he would ever get to see her, and now he had to leave her. If he had the power to stop time just like his sister-in-law, he would.

It took all of his strength to pry the little hand away from his suit and lay the baby down on the crib. He gave the baby one last kiss and whispered "I love you" before turning to the Seer.

"Take care of her, Seer. She is our best asset, and I don't want her falling into the wrong hands. Don't fail me." Cole looked deep into the Seer's eyes as he said this, and he knew she was taking him seriously. "Now leave me. I want to spend some time with my daughter. Alone."

The Seer obeyed and shimmered out. Cole was left alone in the manor, but he knew that his wife's meddling sister was on her way. It was possible that he would never live past this night, but right now, he didn't care. He was aware that Lucy was sleeping softly, never a high-pitched cry escaping from her lips, and he knew that it would stay the same until she grew up.

"You may never need help, but when you do, I will be there for you," Cole said softly. "I promise."

July 2018

"This is crazy," Lucy muttered. "Mom, remind me why we're going to San Francisco again? Because really, I don't get why we have to move."

"Lucy, please. You know your father and I are going to be handling a new business in the city, and we want to be close to it as we possibly can," Lucy's mom, Lana, replied in an exasperated tone. "Now please, drop the subject."

Lucy sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. She didn't like moving; she was already comfortable living in Florida and she hated having to move for the fifth time. Ever since she turned 10 her parents suddenly became paranoid. It was a wonder how she was able to keep David interested after two years of erratic living.

Lucy was sixteen and she had long, ebony hair that hung all the way to her waist. A few years ago she had dyed her hair brown and ended up liking it. It's stayed that way ever since. She had green eyes, pale skin, and an athletic build. People – especially guys – usually told her that she was a dark beauty. She didn't know where she got her looks from, since her mother was a redhead and her dad, Deacon, looked a little Hispanic. They explained that she took after her grandfather (her mother's dad), and she was satisfied. She never was one who was fond of long explanations. She had a "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude about life.

Deacon suddenly parked opposite a huge house, which had a flowering front yard and an imposing facade. "We're here."

"Thank God," Lana said, and she quickly unbuckled her seat. "Come on, Lucy."

"What are we doing here? Is this our new home?" Lucy asked, confused. "It looks small, if you ask me."

Deacon took her hand impatiently and walked up the steps. Lucy suddenly had an unnerving feeling that she had been here before. Images filled her brain: a tall man taking her in his arms, a feeling of safety of comfort complemented by the man's powerful presence, and the screaming of a young woman.

Lucy shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of these images, and when she straightened up she saw Deacon ringing the doorbell. "Wait, someone lives here?"

Deacon turned to her and looked at Lana. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Deacon. They can help, I'm sure of it. The Se –" Lana stopped when the door opened, and a very pale redhead came into view.

"Yes?" the woman said, looking at each of them. "May I help you?"

"Yes, yes you can. I'm Deacon and this is my wife, Lana. And this.. this is Lucy," Deacon said in a rush. "Please, we don't have much time and there is a lot to tell."

The woman's face changed. "Are you witches?"

Lucy snorted. Was this some sort of joke? "Witches? Please," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "Mom, what are we doing here exactly?"

Deacon and Lana ignored her; they were looking at the woman with pleading eyes. She stepped back and they ushered Lucy into the house. It was quite big, and it seemed made entirely of wood, although there were glass panels that gave it an open, homey feel.

"Wait here, I'll call my sisters," the woman said, and she rushed up the stairs. A few minutes later, four sets of footsteps came from the stairs. The woman was followed by two other women and one man.

"The Charmed Ones! Please, you are the only ones we can turn to," Lana said.

"Piper, Phoebe, Paige, they're demons," the man said.

The redhead's eyes widened. The woman with long hair raised her hands, but before she could do anything else, Deacon stepped in front of Lucy.

"Stop! You wouldn't want to hurt your niece, would you?"

The woman stopped. "Wait, what?"

Lucy stared at her father. "Dad, what are you saying?" It took a few seconds for her to realize the truth. "Am I adopted?"

Deacon looked at her, took a deep breath, and nodded. "Yes, Lucy, you are. And she - " he pointed to the petite woman standing beside the redhead "- is your mom."

"Phoebe?" the woman with long hair looked incredulously at Phoebe, whose eyes were wide. "How did this happen?"

The man hesitated. "There's something else, Piper."

Piper looked at him. "What?"

"She's a hybrid. A demon-witch. I can sense that much in her," he replied, looking at Lucy warily.

Deacon nodded. "Yes. Phoebe, look at your daughter. You'll know who her father is."

Lucy gave a loud sigh, and everyone looked at her. "Just stop, okay? I know this is supposed to be a joke, and a very good one, but it's getting old. Dad, come on, is this because of that A- I got in math? Do you have to be that stiff - "

"No, Lucy, no," Deacon said, putting two hands on her shoulders. "This is about who you really are. About your heritage. We didn't want to tell you, but these past few years have been tough. We didn't expect to keep you alive this far."

"Please forgive us, Lucy," Lana begged. "Because of you, we left our demon side behind and became human. We thought we could keep your heritage a secret, but it's been too much to handle."

Lucy couldn't take anymore. She broke free from Deacon's grasp and pushed past Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and the man. "Look, I don't understand any of this! A few minutes ago I was Lucy Colleen Montgomery, and now you're saying I'm part of their family?"

"She's saying it like it's a bad thing," the redhead – Paige – murmured.

Deacon and Lana rushed to comfort Lucy, but before they could reach her, a man in a black cloak suddenly appeared. He drew two energy balls and threw them at Lucy. These failed to hit her; instead, Deacon and Lucy were consumed in flames, screaming, before they exploded.

The reason why Lucy wasn't hit was because a man had pulled her into the next room, but when Lucy saw her parents flare up, she yelled and rushed back into the room. She saw two burn marks where Deacon and Lana were, and in her fury she barely noticed what she was doing. Before she knew it, the man was on fire, screaming. The next second he had exploded.

Lucy breathed deeply, tears slowly trailing down her cheeks. "Mom...Dad..." she sank to her knees and placed both hands ontop of the burn marks. They were still warm. "Oh my God, I am so sorry."

She felt someone give her a hug, and she leaned her head on the person's shoulder and sobbed.

"Cole?"

Lucy opened her eyes and looked up into the face of the man who saved her life. She then saw that Phoebe, Piper, Paige, and the man were staring at the both of them.

"Oh wow, it's true, she is your daughter, Phoebe," Paige said in awe.

"Leo, how did that happen?" Phoebe asked, her voice shaking.

Lucy released her hold on Cole and tried to stand up, but she stumbled and ended back in Cole's arms. "Let me go! What is wrong with you people? My parents are dead and all you can ask is 'how did that happen?' What am I, a freak of nature?"

Cole stood by her side, and Lucy looked at him. "Okay, I know I owe you my life, but do you think you could give me some space?"

To her surprise Cole stepped back and leaned against the wall, but he never tore his eyes away from her. Lucy knew she should be amazed that an extremely handsome man like Cole was staring at her, but she didn't feel that way. In fact, she didn't feel anything.

"Lucy, listen to us," Phoebe said slowly, taking a step forward. "Are you calm?"

"What a question. My parents are dead, who in fact aren't really my parents, but are demons that have raised me since I was a baby. Now I'm in the company of witches? Wait, my mind's going blank!" Lucy glared at Phoebe, whose eyes were occasionally resting on her, and then at Cole.

"She certainly has Phoebe's spirit," Piper commented.

Lucy drew a deep breath to calm herself, and sighed. "Okay, fine. I'm listening."

Phoebe, Paige, Piper, and Leo ushered her into the dining room where they explained everything. How Phoebe, Paige, and Piper were sisters who happened to be witches, also known as the Charmed Ones. Leo was Piper's husband and the sisters' former Whitelighter and guardian. Lucy listened to everything, and when they were done, she drew her head in her hands.

"It's too much to take in," she mumbled. "I have a mom who's a witch, and my aunts are witches too. Oh geez."

"There's one other thing," Phoebe said hesitantly. "Your dad's alive."

"Why did you mention him only now?" Lucy asked.

"Because they thought I was dead," Cole said, walking into the room. Lucy saw Phoebe stiffen, but she was focused on something. Cole's voice...it sounded so familiar. Cole drew up a chair beside Lucy and sat down.

"Yes, I thought we vanquished you for the final time," Paige said, frowning.

"So did I, but it appears that someone has given me another chance," Cole replied. "Another chance to fulfil a much bigger role."

"And what's that, Cole?" Phoebe said dryly. "To be the next Source?"

"No. To be a father." Cole placed a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulder, and she instantly felt safe. "I was sent here to save Lucy."

Paige raised an eyebrow. "Why? How do we know that you won't use your powers for evil?"

"For one thing, I'm mortal. Second, today was the day Lucy was destined to die. If I wasn't given the opportunity, she would have been dead by now. Did you see the demon earlier? He was sent to kill Lucy. The new Source doesn't like competition."

Lucy placed her hands on the table. "Competition? How am I competition?"

"You were born when I was the Source of All Evil. Naturally those who know your heritage see that you are supposed to be the next Source because it is your birthright. This explains why you have been under constant demon attacks for the past years. That marked the time when the Source realized who you were," Cole explained calmly.

"Great. So I'm this really weird demon-witch combination. This is the best announcement of my life," Lucy said, banging her head on the chair's backrest.

"No, not weird, just – powerful. Very powerful," Leo said. "Now I know why Deacon and Lana brought you here. They wanted to keep you safe."

"Great. I feel safer already," Lucy muttered. "So I'm supposed to have all these cool powers?"

"Yes. For now we know you can create and throw fire balls," Cole declared.

"I can throw fire balls? How?" Lucy asked, amazed.

"You threw fire balls at the demon, Lucy," Leo replied.

Lucy's mouth dropped open. "No way."

"Yes way," Paige said, grinning. "I know it's supposed to be scary, given that you're half-demon, but still, throwing fire balls is cool."

"She needs to practice some more, though," Piper mused. "It takes time to master one's powers. And in her case, she might need them."

Lucy noticed Phoebe had fallen silent. "Phoe – I mean, Mom?"

Phoebe didn't look up; not until Piper gave her a nudge. "Yes, Lucy?"

"You're not saying anything," Lucy pointed out.

"Oh, well, it's because I'm taking it all in too, sweetie," Phoebe gave Lucy a sheepish grin, but Lucy felt it was forced. "It's not everyday you learn you have another daughter."

"Okay." Lucy sensed tension coming from her dad, who had suddenly withdrawn his hand and was concentrating on the table. She knew there was something more to the story behind her real parents, and she wanted to find out what.