A big thanks to my readers/reviewers from the last chapter:
To thesistersthree, littlemissbad, ariasjunior, 'chuffy-barmed-oc', missypaige06, lizardmomma, and cancer-chris. :o)
thesistersthree: lol - I always like the Prue/Cole interaction too.
littlemissbad: hehe. So, you're addicted, lol. Happy you're enjoying the story this much. Hope you like what's still to come.
ariasjunior: Thank you, I'm thrilled you think I'm doing such a good job with this.
'chuffy-barmed-oc': Thanks, that's an awesome compliment that it's like watching a real episode from the show. And thanks for pointing out the small errors, I like to fix them if I can. ;o)
missypaige06: Another satisfied customer? Good, lol. It's great to know that you like how everything is playing out so far.
lizardmomma: thanks a bunch for taking the time to review. I'm glad to hear you think I'm doing such a good job.
cancer-chris: lol, hey welcome to my other story. Thanks for taking time to review here too because your words mean alot. Glad you like my ideas in this one as well.
Next stop? A new chapter to A Witch Lost in Time:
Chapter Two: Here With Me
The rays of sunlight shot into the bedroom through the window shades and along with it came an intense feeling of warmth that provided a tingling sensation upon the two faces it hit.
The female figure was in the beginning stages of breaking through the barriers of sleep as her consciousness slowly shifted back into an awakening state. She could feel the soft, cotton material coming from the comforter blanket wrapped securely around her in the bed. While stretching her arms above her head, she yawned. With a smile in place and before opening her eyes, she rolled over and nestled herself snugly into the arms and chest of the male figure lying outstretched in the bed beside her.
Suddenly, a creaking noise could be heard coming from the bedroom door being opened and along with it the pattering sound of small feet.
"Mommy! Mommy! Wake up," came the whisperings of a small child.
"Mm," the woman moaned. The woman shifted herself out of position and rolled back onto her back. But she didn't open her eyes just yet. Not yet fully alert, she protested against the plea. "Not yet," she mumbled.
The small hand pushed against the female figure. "Mommy?" the child's voice pleaded a little louder the second time around. "Hurry up! Or we're going to be late for Aunt Suzie and Becky!"
Something suddenly struck a cord inside of the woman, causing her mind to become more aware as she began to register the last few seconds.
Mommy? No, wait, that can't be right!
Abruptly, she shot herself straight up in bed and when she turned to look beside her, standing there was the same little girl she had seen once before. And with her shoulder-length brown hair, her bluish-gray eyes, and the visible freckles gracing her young face, the woman instantly knew she was looking into the face of her future daughter. A daughter she had met not too long ago. Unfortunately, this also meant something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.
The little girl's smile faded when she caught the panic-stricken look covering her mother's face.
"Mommy? Are you okay?" her voice asked, full of concern. Then, being a very observant eight-year old, she took in her mother's appearance. Furrowing her small brows in deep concentration, she commented on it. "You look different today!"
The woman stared without saying a word and the child stared back.
"Mommy, did you forget again?" the little girl suddenly asked. "I can't be late. I get to be the ballerina with the most parts but only if I'm there. And then Aunt Suzie and Becky will leave me again if you don't drop me off in time!"
The woman turned to the man sleeping beside her to shake him awake.
"Leo, you need to get up!" her voice drifted into to his ears, breaking through his own sleep. "Leo?"
The man tossed a little bit before responding to her urgent request. "What?" he grumbled through half-opened eyes.
"Uh? E.m.e.r.g.e.n.c.y," she spelled out for him, pausing a little after each letter. "That's what! Get up now!"
Leo stared her straight in the face before catching his bearings. As he started to sit up, he began to take in his surroundings and when he did, a widespread look of confusion broke out across his face. How in the world did they wind up together in bed? Better yet, when had they even fallen asleep? The last thing he remembered was leaving to bring Piper back home. However, he hadn't been given much time to reflect on this as his attention was brought to the sound of a child's voice.
"Emergency, mommy?" the little girl questioned, her face scrunched up in deep thought. She had pieced the letters together and spelled out the word for them. "How come? Because we're not supposed to have those anymore, remember?"
Piper and Leo glanced at each other and then both broke out with nervous laughs.
"Uh, Piper? What's going on?" he addressed her through some clenched teeth.
"Um, sweetie?" Piper smiled, addressing the child and deciding it was best to just play along for the time being. "Why don't you go finish getting dressed and mommy will be ready in just a little bit, alright?"
"Okay!" she answered cheerfully. "But be fast."
The little girl smiled brightly and bent forward to kiss her mother. After extending her lips to the child's for the small show of affection, Piper then watched as she rounded the bed only to reach out and offer her father a hug before turning to leave the room. Leo played along as well. Suddenly, Piper felt herself overcome with emotion. The last time she had seen the child was during her trip to the future and she had been forced to say good-bye after making a decision about binding her powers. And now here she was seeing her again. How did this happen?
"Melinda?" she called out, watching the child skip to the door.
The little girl stopped and turned around.
Piper smiled. "I love you," she offered as the child nodded her head.
"I already know that, mommy."
With that said, both Piper and Leo watched as little Melinda turned the doorknob and exited the bedroom by herself. After she left, Piper let her smile fade as both she and Leo turned to look at each other. Both knew exactly what the other was thinking.
"Book of Shadows?" Leo acknowledged.
"Oh, you betcha. Book of Shadows," Piper confirmed, throwing the covers off her. "And then we need to figure out what all this means for Prue and Phoebe too!"
Both of them bolted out of the bed heading for the door.
Next stop was the attic.
(-X-)
Precious seconds had passed by while both Prue and Andy just stared back at one another. Phoebe had been momentarily shocked by the arrival and identity of their unexpected guest but her focus was quickly pulled back to the current problem at hand. There would be time to ask questions later.
"Okay, uh, Prue? We need to focus here!" she addressed her sister. "And not that it's not great to see you again, Andy, but we've got a big problem lying right here on the floor. This girl's been hit with a darklighter's arrow, and if she's a whitelighter, she's in serious trouble. And after seeing those orbs, I'm going to go out on a limb and venture a guess that you can help us over here?"
Andy and Prue were pulled from their trance.
"Uh, sure," he answered her, breaking eye contact with Prue, and reverting his attention over to Phoebe and the young woman lying injured on the floor.
Andy knelt down beside the woman with the raven-colored hair and carefully extracted the arrow from out of her shoulder. Then he extended his hands over the wound as a glowing light suddenly appeared. While Andy healed, Prue nervously watched on from behind, hands folded and supported underneath her chin.
Melissa, who had been crouched in the corner, slowly arose from her cowering position and watched with interest. After Andy's unexpected arrival, everyone had managed to practically blot out her existence. But now she stood and began walking over until she reached Prue's side.
"So. How long have you been this way now, Andy?" Phoebe inquired. He glanced at her and then she expounded upon the question. "I mean, the whole new magical destiny gig? I know this is the strangest time to be striking up chit-chat but then again we never really got the chance to say good-bye either," she reflected sadly.
He sighed. "Uh, maybe about six months?" he answered her question. While he looked at Phoebe, he never glanced back over at Prue at all. "But that's a guess. Mortal time doesn't exactly have anything to do with where I come from."
"Right," Phoebe nodded at the explanation, glancing over at Prue next.
"Six months?" Prue repeated. A part of her felt saddened by that particular revelation. However, Melissa's sudden inquiry regarding the young woman being healed by Andy broke her away from that particular train of thought.
"Is she going to be okay?" her voice quivered.
Prue turned to look at the young teenager but before she got the chance to respond their attention was brought to the sound of coughing coming from the stranger who was still lying on the floor. Phoebe knelt back down to help support her as she attempted to sit back up.
"What happened?" Paige questioned through her coughing spurts.
Phoebe looked to the others. "Uh, why don't you tell us what you remember?"
"Hitting the floor!" Paige cracked, bringing her hand to the back of her head. "Hard!"
Prue smiled. At least the woman had a sense of humor about the whole thing. "Right. Before that?" she addressed her.
"Actually, not here," Andy put up his hand, interrupting the small interrogation session. "We should go."
At the sound of his voice, Paige turned to look at the man standing beside her. "Wait a minute, who are you? And, um, isn't this supposed to be the ladies bathroom?" Then, suddenly remembering why she had been in here, she looked around for the younger girl. "Melissa?" she called.
"Melissa's fine," Andy tried to reassure Paige while extending his hand to help her stand up. "She's right over there," he nodded his head in the younger girl's direction. "She's actually the reason I'm here," he shared with the small group.
Phoebe looked to the girl. "Really? Why?"
However, everybody was alerted to the sounds of voices coming from just outside the bathroom door, and the movement of the door, as someone tried to enter. Prue immediately lifted her hand, using her power to prevent their entry. They could hear the protests outside.
"Like I said, not here," Andy stressed a second time.
"Right," Prue nodded her head in agreement. "You can bring us back to the manor?"
Andy sighed. "It'll have to do for right now."
Prue picked up on the slight hesitation right away. She didn't want to read into anything but he sounded less then pleased about it; however, had reluctantly agreed to go along with it since there really was no other viable option available to them. Actually, she was beginning to recall that with the exception of the first few moments he had been here, it felt like he was trying to avoid her on purpose. All further eye contact with her had virtually ceased, right after their initial and mutually shared state of surprise at having come face to face with one another.
What's that all about, she wondered. But Prue shook it off. "Okay. Let's go."
"Where are we going?" Melissa inquired nervously. She looked between Prue, Phoebe, and then back at Paige.
Prue reached her hand out to her. "Somewhere we can help you," she reassured her. "You can trust us, I promise."
Melissa hesitated for a moment; however, when noticing that Paige wasn't putting up much of a fight, she gave in. Paige, not having much time to react or to question anything that had just happened, just went with the flow. Andy stood in the middle as Phoebe and Paige were latched onto one side of him while Prue and Melissa took the other side.
The small group was orbed back to the Halliwell manor as one group.
(-X-)
The blue and white orbs rematerialized inside of the manor attic, with everyone reforming back into themselves.
Paige's instinctive reaction was to step away from the rest of the group. She didn't understand what was going on, how she had just gotten here, and it was really beginning to creep her out. The memory of what had happened back at the club and what she had seen inside the bathroom hit her full force now. How in the hell had her date transformed into this 'person' she completely didn't recognize? Was he even a person? She didn't know the answer to those questions and she wasn't even sure she wanted to know at this point.
"Listen, not that I don't appreciate all the help, but I really need to just get myself out of here and back home, please," Paige insisted. "Now!" her eyes widened as the shock was finally registering.
Andy was the next one to break away from the group, and while pacing with his arms crossed, he took a moment to observe the young woman with some interest. He was picking up around her what other whitelighters could normally sense about each other. However, this girl appeared to be completely clueless as to what she was and he was having trouble understanding why that was the case. How could this girl not be aware of what she was? Maybe he was mistaken about that, though. But then the other scenario quickly popped into mind. He hoped that wasn't the situation because then he'd be forced to take her out.
Prue and Phoebe glanced at each other.
"Home?" Phoebe questioned her. "That might not be the safest bet until we figure out why this darklighter was after you."
"A darklighter?" Paige sent them a strange look.
"Well, normally their targets are either whitelighters or future whitelighters to be," explained Prue, walking over to the Book of Shadows sitting on the podium. She started to flip through the pages until she reached the one about darklighters.
"Whitelighters?" Paige reiterated. "Okay, hold up, you people are saying these things to me like I'm supposed to know what all of that means."
"Yeah, well think of them as the good guys. Darklighters are the opposite of that, the bad guys, so they seek to rid the good side of them. They have the ability to summon a crossbow. Their arrows are poisonous and deadly to whitelighters. But if memory serves me correctly from the last time I had trouble with the one who was tracking me, there isn't a known way to vanquish them. That means no potions and no spells. We would need a whitelighter which in that case?" she trailed off and then turned her attention over to Andy next.
Andy shared a quick look with her but quickly averted his gaze.
"Spells?" Paige's voice rose a notch, a clear look of distaste covering her face. "Uh, big whoa." She held up her hands to halt the discussion. "Are you guys supposed to be witches or something?" came her question as she looked between the two sisters. "And, you know what, I thought you looked familiar," she added quickly on second thought as it suddenly dawned on her who they were. "You're the Halliwells, aren't you? From the club? P3, right?"
"Um, yeah, that would be we!" Phoebe cracked, sharing a look with Prue.
Prue then turned her attention back to Paige. "And you would be?" she pushed for an introduction, making a face.
"Paige. And I'm out of here!" she declared strongly, while rolling her eyes, shaking her head, and feeling the disbelief register. All concerns for her safety momentarily took a backseat as her thoughts centered on getting out of there. She had never thought about signing on for something crazy like that. So she was forgetting any ideas of reuniting with long lost family members.
"Paige, no, wait! Let us help you!" Phoebe protested but it was too late because she already stepped out through the attic door. She started to follow in the other woman's direction but stopped immediately when she noticed that Prue hadn't moved to follow her. "Prue, come on, we can't just let her walk out of here?"
"Phoebe, what are we supposed to do, chain her down? Just let her go for now," Prue insisted. "Besides, we're not even positive that she's the real target. It could be Melissa that darklighter was really after," she pointed out, both sisters turning to look in the young girl's direction. "Maybe she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and the darklighter wanted to get her out of the way?"
Phoebe shook her head. "I don't know, Prue. Something just doesn't feel right. And I could have sworn that I knew her from somewhere. She seems so familiar."
"Yeah, it's probably from the club," Prue acknowledged. "She said she knew who we were."
"No, it's something else," Phoebe insisted, not able to put her finger on it. "It's different."
"I have to use the bathroom!" Melissa announced rather suddenly.
The remaining three turned to look in her direction. Up until that point, she had remained very quiet only observing the interaction playing out before her. Andy hadn't said anything either but he was now observing the young girl with concern. This didn't go unnoticed by Prue or Phoebe.
"I'll take you," Phoebe offered, as Melissa stepped forward to join her. Then the sound of the doorbell ringing caught everybody's attention. Phoebe sighed, closing her eyes. "Cole," she muttered, immediately guessing who it had to be. "I just left him waiting back there with no explanation. You can use the one downstairs," she indicated to Melissa, ushering her forward.
Prue just rolled her eyes at the mention of Cole's name; however, Andy happened to catch her reaction. After Phoebe and Melissa left the attic, it was just the two of them left standing alone together. There was an extremely awkward silence that filled the space between them.
(-X-)
Piper made quick strides up the attic stairs with Leo following behind her.
When they stepped inside of the vast space, they immediately observed that the attic looked extremely different from what they were accustomed to seeing. In fact, when being compared to before, it currently appeared very similar to an average attic being used for storage. There were no signs or any indications that the attic was ever used as a central meeting place to perform their duties as the Charmed Ones. There wasn't even a podium or a Book of Shadows in sight.
Piper released a nervous snort. "Okay, this certainly isn't good."
"Where's the Book?" Leo asked, stating the obvious question.
"I have no idea," Piper shook her head. "But without it we're screwed because there's no other way to help us figure out this whole mess. And I'm almost positive we're stuck in some kind of freaky future somewhere but what are we supposed to do without the Book?" she waved her hands around.
Both Piper and Leo scanned the entire layout, looking for any signs of a hidden Book of Shadows. Each one of them then headed in different directions and began searching through boxes.
"We need to find your sisters," Leo insisted during the search. "Maybe something happened to them too and they're stuck here with us? If not, then we can seek out their future counterparts."
"If we can find them, Leo!" stressed Piper. "I doubt we'd still be living together now anyway and there's nothing so far to suggest that we are. We weren't in the other future time-line. Look around us. There's nothing that's even here to show us that the Charmed Ones ever existed. I mean, what if they don't exist either?" She was beginning to panic after trying so hard not to. "What did you do?" she suddenly accused. "How could you not know how to bring us back the right way?"
"Piper, I didn't do anything," he defended.
"Leo? Then where the hell are we?" she raised her voice, bringing her hands up to her face.
Piper took some deep breaths to try and calm herself down as Leo took steps in her direction. He reached out for her and allowed her to fall against his chest which she did without hesitation. He closed his eyes and held onto her tightly.
"We'll figure it out," he tried to reassure her.
"How?" her voice pleaded. "I just don't understand how this could have happened to us. Do you think we're being punished by the Elders?"
"For what, trying to be together? Maybe. But why don't I go and try to find out."
Leo broke out of the embrace and then closed his eyes. However, when nothing happened, he reopened them only to be met with the same bewildered expression that was coming from Piper's face. Something was most definitely wrong.
"What's wrong?" came her inevitable question.
"I don't know. I think my powers are gone. I can't orb!"
(-X-)
Andy finally opted to break the silence. "So I take it you're not the biggest fan of this Cole guy?"
"So I take it you're a whitelighter now?" Prue countered back with an accusatory edge found in her tone. She had completely avoided his question in the process.
She realized it probably sounded harsh but she just couldn't help it. Maybe she sounded like she was being unfair too but there was a part of her that felt rejected in the sense that he hadn't even made it a point to bother to come and see her after he had been given a magical life. Not even just once. Just to let her know that he was alright or that he had been missing her as much as she had him. She worked hard to bury those feelings of guilt and loss that had rooted itself inside of her after his death and his words now replayed in her head:
I'll always be there for you, Prue.
Her thoughts continued to drift back on other parts of their final conversation just before his departure into the afterlife:
I don't want to lose you.
You won't.
Andy's expression remained unreadable. "It was just a question," he chose to respond back in a neutral tone, instead of taking any offense. "You didn't have to answer it if you didn't want to."
Prue snorted in response, folding her arms.
"Yeah, well, if you're really that curious, the guy just happens to give me the creeps, okay? That's all," she finally answered the question. "I think it just has something to do with Phoebe's choice of men in general." Then she paused. "But, then again, Phoebe's questionable taste on the dating scene isn't really the issue right now. We should probably be talking about something else," she turned the conversation where she wanted it to go. "Like maybe why you're here? You mentioned Melissa."
Andy sighed, placing his hands to his hips. "Actually, Prue, I really shouldn't be here at all," he asserted. "It's against the rules."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she challenged.
Prue couldn't help but feel a bit offended by such an emotionless declaration being made by the same man she had shed alot of countless tears for in private. For the only person that had held her heart in a way that no other had been able to do since his passing. The guilt over his death had been unbearable for such a long time and, even to this day, it hurt if she allowed herself to reflect on it for too long. Granted, she fully acknowledged that she had been the first one to come across rather defensive towards him but she hadn't expected such a stand-offish reception from a man whose last words were to always be there for her.
At the tone of her question, Andy shot his eyes up to meet with hers. This time there was a hint of longing in them where there once had been a keenly crafted blank stare. And his own emotion slipped through his next words. "Don't you really mean to ask me why I never came back to see you?" he countered right back.
Prue tried pretending that the truth didn't even phase her. "Why? Were you supposed to? Because I don't remember asking you too."
Andy laughed but it wasn't because he found any humor in this situation. "Don't do that!" he accused.
"Do what?" she countered right back at him. "I haven't done a thing except ask you about this new magical destiny that you've apparently somehow acquired for yourself and now your standing over there giving me the third degree about it! Don't push any guilt you may be having off on me."
"Guilt?" he parroted. "I don't feel guilty about not coming to see you." He could tell that stung her when she flinched a bit in response.
"Well, good to know," her sharp tongue shot back. "Now that you've gotten that admission off your chest, excuse me, while I go find Phoebe and do my job!"
"If anyone is still feeling guilty, I think it's you."
Without saying anything, Prue just shook her head in denial to refute it. Prue made a move to leave the attic. She was stubborn, argued for the sake of winning an argument, but he also knew her. Andy opted to aim right for the source of her problem head on this time. He wasn't going to mince words or exchange sugar-coated pleasantries.
"Prue, I know you," he called out.
Prue stopped and turned back around to face him, while folding her arms in the process. She didn't say anything, she just waited.
"When I saw you," he paused and then looked away from her for a moment. "When I met with you before I crossed into the afterlife," he looked her straight in the eyes, "it was because I didn't want you to blame yourself. And I tried to make you understand that there was no need to even feel that way. Like I told you, everything happens for a reason. It was my decision to come here to the manor that day, not yours," he asserted, making direct reference to the day he had lost his mortal life to a demon named Rodriguez.
It had happened over a year ago.
Prue's eyes widened. She took a few steps closer to him so they were only standing inches within each other's space.
"You tried to make me understand?" she reiterated, frustration evident. "You mean, through Darryl?" she asserted, remembering the sentiment Andy had left behind for Darryl to deliver back to her. "I don't think you get it. I told you not to come to the manor that day. I told you what Phoebe saw in her premonition and you ignored me," she complained. "I was the one who was left behind, you weren't. My sisters and I were the ones that had to deal with the consequences and then clean up the mess that was made because of your mistake. Not you."
"No, I came to help," he countered defensively. He followed her as she moved to take steps back to the podium.
"We didn't need your help!" she spat angrily. She slammed the Book of Shadows closed and then ran her fingers through her long dark hair, a clear indication of her own frustration.
Andy stood still, arms crossed. "Well, geez, Prue. Don't hold back!" he mocked. He released a deep sigh that he had been holding in. "But at least it's a start in being honest with me on how you really feel about everything." He stopped, considering whether or not he should say what he wanted to next. "And, look, if you really wanted to know the reason why I haven't come to see you since I've become what I am now, all you had to do was ask me. You know that. I don't keep secrets."
Prue threw him a small glare. Although it sounded like a subtle dig on the surface, she also acknowledged it wasn't intended to be. Andy was just stating his position on that state of their prior relationship. She kept secrets and he hadn't. It was the biggest problem they had encountered in trying to rekindle a relationship that had started such a long time ago. She took in a deep breath.
"Right," she rolled her eyes. "And if you had really loved me, like you claimed to still love me that day, you would have listened to me and not died," she threw back at him. Her voice tried to hide any emotion but it still managed to leak through when she spoke the words. "It was suicide."
"Ah! Right," Andy nodded, keeping his arms crossed. "We finally get to the truth. You're not mad at me for coming here that day. You're mad at me for dying." His voice softened. "Prue, look," he gazed at her intently. "If I didn't love you, it would have been so much easier to think of myself that day. And then I would have stayed away. But I meant what I said and how I felt."
He watched for her body language. Her eyes misted over and she used her fingers to quickly wipe away the evidence. Then Prue took a moment to calm down and re-collect her emotions. "Well, since we are on the subject," she started, keeping her eyes downcast. "Why didn't you come back to see me?"
Andy sighed.
"Come on, Prue. You know how this works," he went into the inevitable explanation. "I'm not even supposed to see you again let alone be standing here talking with you right now. Whitelighters aren't supposed to be engaging in any type of contact with anyone from their former lives."
Prue left the podium and started pacing in front of him as she contemplated his admission.
"But, believe me, it's not because I didn't want to," his voice softened again. His gaze shifted towards the floor. "Come to see you that is," he clarified, looking back up to meet her stare once again.
"But you're standing here with me right now," she countered. She smiled, she couldn't help it. It was a small smile, but small enough to break through some of that emotional tension building up between them during their entire conversation.
He smiled back. "I know. But I shouldn't be," his smile faded just as quickly.
She laughed lightly, nodding and pointing towards the ceiling. "I mean, what are they going to do up there? Whisk you away into oblivion somewhere just because we exchanged a few words back and forth?"
"Maybe."
Prue's smiled slowly faded away when she took note of how serious he seemed to be. "Well that would be a little drastic don't you think?" she pointed out. "Come on, Andy, seriously. We haven't exactly done anything that's really that wrong. We're just talking."
Andy closed his eyes and shook his head. He brought his hand up to pinch against the bridge of his nose, attempting to ward off what felt like an oncoming migraine. "Prue, you really need to take this a little more seriously," he warned. "This could all spell big trouble for you and your sisters if the three of you aren't more careful!"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, there's already been talk up there," he explained, pointing upwards and making direct eye contact with her again. "Rumors about expelling your whitelighter for good. Leo, is his name? And then suspending Piper's powers when they're found? I'm not about to create more problems, Prue, I'm not. I won't risk your life or theirs, or all the innocents you're supposed to help save. No matter how much I've missed being around you. So, yeah, when I say I don't feel guilty for not coming around to see you, I mean it! It doesn't matter what I feel. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do really need to be checking on my new charge."
Andy moved to leave the attic and Prue followed on his heels. Prue was touched by some of the admission but now she was definitely concerned for her sister and Leo. But at the same time, she still wanted to know more about why he was so on edge around her. Did he still know more that he just wasn't telling her?
"Piper and Leo are missing, Andy!" she declared behind him. "It's been two months, so are you saying that the Elders know something about what happened to them? Are they not being allowed to come back home?"
After leaving the attic and reaching the second floor level, with Prue following right behind him, Andy looked to each side of the hallway trying to recollect by memory on which direction would lead him to the downstairs.
"It's left," she directed him as he turned. She followed. "Andy?" she pushed when she didn't receive an answer.
"No, Prue, it means nobody knows for sure what's happened to them," he stressed back to her. "But that doesn't mean that there hasn't been talk up there or that there aren't any ideas."
Andy stopped as he reached the top of the stairs that would lead to the first floor. He turned around suddenly and Prue almost bumped into him as he stood to face her. Briefly, he closed his eyes and then sighed. He had already come into contact with her and, here he was, so he decided he might as well just give her the whole truth. He could tell her exactly what he was, exactly what he was doing here, why he had been assigned to Melissa, and exactly what the problem was that had all Elders and Whitelighters on such high alert.
"There is more," he nodded to her, finally relenting. "But the Elders have been trying to keep it under tight wraps."
"You mean there's more going on?" she confirmed.
Andy nodded. "Have you ever heard the term Half-lighter before?"
(-X-)
After Phoebe had finished directing the young girl Melissa to the downstairs bathroom, she quickly made her way for the front door preparing to be greeted by a disgruntled Cole.
"It's just around the corner, sweetie," she instructed to her.
"Okay, thanks," Melissa had replied sweetly as she picked up her pace in the right direction.
Phoebe raced down the foyer and then opened the front door. Her assumption had been correct. There, leaning against the entrance, was the assistant district attorney, Cole Turner. Unfortunately, her second assessment had been just as accurate too. He didn't appear that happy to have been what he would perceive as 'stood up.'
"Cole? I am so sorry," she stressed, closing her eyes.
"You know, Phoebe, if you wanted to end the evening early all you had to do was say so and I would have been more than willing to have taken you back home. But don't stand me up at a bar, which by the way is at your club," he laughed in an agitated fashion, "and where I'm waiting for over twenty minutes for you to return only to find out you've left altogether."
"You're right and please let me make it up to you," she pleaded.
Cole eyed her up and down. "Well, for starters, you can help make it up to me by explaining what pulled you out of there in such a hurry. I mean, I thought things were going rather well between us, especially considering earlier on."
Phoebe smiled knowingly. "I know. It was going great and it still is but we sort of just had an emergency here. It couldn't wait."
"What was such an emergency that it couldn't wait?" he interrogated with another laugh.
Phoebe smiled, looking down, not completely sure on how to cover up from there. However, she was saved by the bell when the sound of Prue's voice came from directly behind her.
"A leaking roof!" Prue declared, entering the foyer with Andy trailing her. "Must have been because of the heavy rainstorm we had a few days ago. You know how these old houses can get sometimes. That built-up water just broke right through." She stopped inside the foyer with her arms crossed and a smug smirk in place.
Cole glared at her for one moment before turning back to observe Phoebe, who met his eyes with her own. Then his curiosity suddenly got the better of him as he straightened out his posture and took notice of the unfamiliar man who was standing in the foyer beside Prue.
"Uh-huh," he responded non-chalantly to Prue's smugness. "I don't believe we've met," Cole addressed the other man. He took a couple steps closer and extended his hand. "Cole Turner. Assistant District Attorney. And you would be?" he pushed.
Andy narrowed his eyes a bit and tried to size the other man up. Cole stood there in front of him waiting; however, before extending his own hand to the other man, Andy wanted to try and feel for why it was that Prue seemed to be so turned off by him. Slowly, he eventually extended his hand.
"Ralph, repairman," Andy quickly made up with a firm handshake.
"Right," Cole responded, observing the other man with extreme scrutiny. The handshake ended as quickly as it had started. "But I do need to be going," he asserted. "So give me a call and we'll do this again," he turned his attention back to Phoebe. He bent down and kissed her on the lips.
Prue and Andy both looked away. Andy scratched the side of his head while Prue made a face, both of them feeling a little uncomfortable with the open display of affection before them.
"See you soon," he told Phoebe, heading back for the front door. He turned back around to readdress 'Ralph' one last time. "And, uh, Ralph?" he pointed at him. "Good luck with all those emergencies," came his warning. "They tend to run into alot of those around here."
"Hm. Right," Andy played along, feigning a smile.
"But on the bright side, at least you'll always be in business," he plastered on a fake smile. Then there was a brief pause. "I certainly know I will," he released some slight laughter because of the underlying meaning behind his choice of words. He knew that if he was right about the other man standing there, perhaps 'Ralph', as he called himself, picked up on the subtle dig he had just thrown out there.
As Cole exited the manor, Phoebe closed the door behind him. However, before she turned back around to face the others, Andy shared a concerned look with Prue that Phoebe had missed.
"Uh, Pheebs, we've got some newer and bigger problems!" she finally addressed the youngest Halliwell, referring to the information she had just retrieved from Andy.
(-X-)
Cole paused just outside the front door after it had closed.
Slowly, he lifted up his hand and began shaking away the sparkly dust that had settled on his hand after coming into contact with the other man inside.
"A tracklighter!" he made a grimace.
He would probably need to go and warn the half-lighter about his presence. Especially since she was the one assigned to handle the two older sisters while he took care of the youngest. He could definitely interfere with the Source's plans; however, he quickly decided that the matter could wait until another day. Because it really wasn't his problem if the half-lighter couldn't deal with it.
He shimmered out heading back to his work office found in the city.
(-X-)
Melissa had waited a few minutes, with her ear plastered against the bathroom door, before attempting what she wanted to do.
When she was sure she thought she heard no sound or anyone waiting for her, she moved herself over to the small bathroom window. After stepping up onto the toilet seat and pushing the window open, a fresh breeze forced its way inside from the very cool night air. She managed to swing herself through the small opening and then landed feet first on the ground.
Thank heavens I'm small enough to do that, she thought.
Her goal was to find Paige. Paige had left in such a hurry but had forgotten completely about her. She needed to make sure that Paige was okay before the others found her missing. It was dark outside and Melissa made her way around the side of the big house and finally onto the sidewalk. Melissa hated the dark. It reminded her too much of the time she had lost her parents for good.
In her distracted and nervous state, she kept turning around and looking behind her. And then, boom, that's when it happened. She slammed straight into someone that was blocking the path in front of her.
Melissa let out a loud scream.
To Be Continued: Thanks for waiting. I really hope that you've read and enjoyed. And please don't forget to review. I appreciate hearing what you have to say.
Coming up: The Scattered Agenda
Cole's doubts do continue to resurface as his feelings for Phoebe continue to grow. His allegiance will be called into question. In the meantime, Piper and Leo will come to terms with the lack of control over their situation. Prue and Andy try to maintain their distance but begin to find it increasingly hard in chapters to come. Will there be consequences for them too? Also, someone uncovers the truth regarding Paige's identity. Will it be revealed to the sisters? And more of the Source's sinister plot is unveiled.
Stay Tuned ...
