The Way it Was

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed.

A/N: Well...this is my first fic in about a year. Please tell me what you think. I'll be happy to read some constructive criticism!

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Phoebe Halliwell sat back in the wooden chair of the Halliwell kitchen. It was a sunny, normal, weekday. The house was empty; the sisters, Leo, and Coop all had work to do. Piper had dropped the boys off at daycare, as usual. Phoebe usually spent this time to think about how to answer the readers of "Ask Phoebe", her advice column. Today, however, she was thinking back on her experiences as a witch and saving Innocents. She somehow missed those stressful days of vanquishing evil and sisterly bonding. Even though she lost loved ones to evil, namely her sister Prue, she could not forget the reward of helping so many people.

'Maybe I'm just being selfish,' she thought. 'All I ever wanted was a normal life and now I have one...but at the cost of leaving Innocents to evil? I know what it's like to lose someone I care about, which is even more reason to help others...but don't I deserve a normal life? I mean, I earned it, and I want to be there for my family and my future children. Is there something wrong with that?' She was confused more than anything, split between two desires. She buried her face in her hands and suddenly remembered the time of her first engagement to Cole. Like now, she could not decide whether to marry him or not, and cast a spell. Unpredictably, her past and future selves appeared and eventually lead her to decide on the marriage.

'Maybe I could do something similar to that spell and ask to reveal what I really want,' she thought. She got up from the chair and walked upstairs to the attic. It was a while since she had been up in the room, and Paige had "fashionably" organized it to her liking. Paige was the only regular to use the Book of Shadows and the attic for teaching her charges. Phoebe walked over to the messy table, grabbed a notepad and paper and started brainstorming for a spell. Whatever she could do, it was worth a try.

'I never knew my indecision about marriage would actually come in handy,' she thought. 'Then again, I only got hurt in the end by Cole. I was so stupid...got caught up in the thrill of being in love...how could I be so blind...'

She scratched her head and turned her attention to the spell. After fifteen minutes or so, she was satisfied, but did not know what to expect. Maybe it would summon her future and past selves again, or the Angel of Destiny? Or an Elder? Phoebe decided to prepare for it and cleared some of the clutter on the ground. She then placed candles in a circle and lit them. Stepping out of the circle, she took a deep breath and thought, 'Well, here goes nothing,' and read:

Come, spirits, let me see

What my innermost desire be

Whether to fulfill my destiny

As a witch

Or to lead a normal life

Show me the way

And I will be at peace from this day.

All of a sudden, a wind appeared, swirling around the center of the candle-lit area. When it stopped, Phoebe was shocked to see whom she had summoned.

It was Cole.