ContraCharmed

by SwiftyGirl7474

How I think the show could have gone with Phoebe as the eldest and Prue as the youngest Charmed One. Not all the episodes of Season 1. Just a series of One-shot episodes that I enjoy.

3. Dream Sorcerer

AN: Thank you guys so much for the reviews. I love them, especially since I don't update this one very much.

I don't really like episode 3 or 4 very much so I skipped them because this is purely for my own enjoyment when working on other stuff and I didn't want to do episodes I don't care for. I started this one awhile ago and got eh, 3/4 through before I realized Prue was going to be put in the hospital again... At that point it was too late for me to really change it so, sorry, it was an accident. The next episode that I'll probably do is The Fourth Sister and PAIGE will make an appearance. It'll be more Phoebe-centric, I promise and will back off Prue a little.

If you have preferences for episodes pm me otherwise they might not be done but who knows I might eventually go back and fill in the episodes I missed. Oh and in Dead Man Dating, Phoebe worked a day as the advise columnist and she sent in a job application. That'll come up so don't be super confused later.

Disclaimer: I realized I forgot the disclaimer on the first chapter but I do NOT own Charmed. Not one little bit. I don't own any of it for any of my chapters.

Dream Sorcerer

Quake

Phoebe pushed through the crowd of the popular restaurant glancing around for her sisters she was meeting. Every now and then she would wave politely to someone while holding her jacket behind her with the other hand. She finally caught sight of her two other sisters seated at a table and she cut a beeline straight for them. However, before getting very far she was intercepted by a couple of young guys.

"Are your parents terrorists? 'Cos baby, you're the bomb." One of the guys expressed the cheesy pickup line. Phoebe smirked and had to work hard to keep from laughing. Surely this guy didn't actually believe he would be able to pick up any chicks with that line. Before she could say anything the other man approached.

"Jim, Jim. Ask her if it hurt when she fell?" He ordered, checking Phoebe out.

Phoebe rolled her eyes hearing another cheesy pickup line coming on. "Uh, excuse me?" She asked him politely, leaning forward to hear him better over all the noise in the restaurant.

"When you fell from Heaven. Did it hurt? 'Cos I know an angel when I see one." He clarified, not disappointing Phoebe with the pickup line.

She didn't need the power of premonition to see that one coming. Phoebe smiled and laughed softly before motioning for him to lean forward. "I'm no angel. I'm a witch, but don't tell my sisters I told you." Phoebe whispered seductively in his ear before patting him on the chest and walking around to finally join her sisters. "Oh, I'm so glad you guys are still here." She greeted, throwing her jacket over the back of the empty chair. Her eyes flickered over her sisters who didn't appear to be paying her any attention. "What are you staring at?" She asked with no response forthcoming.

"They have been going at it for over an hour." Prue replied, pointing behind Phoebe to a couple who didn't seem capable of keeping their hands off of each other or their lips apart.

Phoebe glanced from Prue's disgusted expression, behind her as the couple leaned in for another long kiss. "Hello!" Phoebe called and then sighed and looked away. "God, it's like watching Prue and Andy at our house." She lamented with a pouting expression.

"I know, I hate being single." Piper agreed, playing with the straw in her drink.

Prue glared at her sisters in offense. "We are not that bad!" She exclaimed, seeming horrified at the thought. "… Are we?" Prue inquired suddenly having second thoughts.

Phoebe exchanged an amused glance with Piper at Prue's expense. "Don't worry, sweetheart. We'd kick him out of the house if you two were going at it like that." She assured her younger sister.

Prue didn't really appear comforted but any response was interrupted as one of the waitresses stopped next to their table. "Waitress coming through." She called as she made her way to the Halliwell table with a drink. "Special delivery." She announced cheerfully, sitting a glass of wine down in front of Prue.

"Hey, Skye." Piper greeted sounding a little dejected.

"Hey, Skye." Phoebe echoed though her tone of voice betrayed her distance as she stared at the glass of wine in front of Prue. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're not allowed to have that. What are you doing ordering it?" She demanded to her youngest sister.

Prue would have offered a greeting to Skye, but she was distracted by the wine being placed in front of her and Phoebe interrogating her. Skye waved pleasantly to the three sisters while Prue searched for words. "Uh… I think there's been some kind of mistake. I didn't order this." Prue spoke up, looking at Phoebe while pointing at the wine glass. She relaxed slightly when Phoebe's gaze softened upon realizing her sister wasn't ordering drinks that were still illegal for her. Especially since she was dating a cop.

Skye smiled and gave a slight nod. "I know. You have a secret admirer." Skye explained.

"Who?" Phoebe turned on the waitress while Piper narrowed her eyes slightly.

Skye pointing around them to a young handsome man sitting in a wheelchair. "He ordered it for you." She answered. All three pairs of eyes glanced around for a better view of the man Skye pointed out. He noticed the attention and held up his drink in greeting.

"Who's that?" Piper asked, her eyes narrowing into slits. He seemed kind of shady.

Prue bit her lip slightly at the attention while Phoebe looked as if she was about to stalk over there and beat the guy up. Prue had to quickly grab her hand to stop her from doing just that.

"I have no idea. I'm just following the bartender's orders, and apparently he's had his eyes on Prue all night." Skye replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

Phoebe quickly took the drink from Prue and passed it back to Skye. "Take it back and tell him to look at someone else if he doesn't want to end up in the hospital." Phoebe snapped.

Prue grabbed Skye's wrist before the waitress could comply with Phoebe's demands. "Look, just tell him I'm very flattered, but I'm seeing someone else." Prue pleaded hopefully.

Skye smiled and nodded in understanding at the sisters. "Sure." She agreed taking the drink back up.

"Thanks." Prue appreciated as Skye turned to take the drink back to him.

Piper smiled and tilted her head in a scrutinizing manner. "I wonder how Andy would take this guy. Where's he at anyway?" She wondered curiously.

Prue frowned at the thought of Andy having heard this conversation. He was rather protective, rivaling Phoebe sometimes. "He couldn't get off work tonight." Prue mumbled with a sigh. Her eyes flickered nervously to the man across the room.

"Quit looking in his direction. You'll make him think you're interested." Phoebe hissed and Prue quickly averted her gaze.

On the other side of the restaurant Skye reached the man who had sent Prue a drink. He frowned as she approached. "She didn't want the drink?" He guessed with a sigh, fiddling with the arm of his wheelchair.

"I'm sorry, no. She's flattered; she's just seeing someone else." Skye explained, sitting the glass of wine down on his table.

"Sure she is." He agreed with a laugh before turning his gaze on the waitress. "How about you? Maybe you'd like to have a drink with me sometime." He asked with a hopeful smile.

Skye bit her lip and searched for an excuse out of it. "Oh, um, that's really sweet of you but I'm not allowed to date the customers." She explained and then looked away after hearing her name being called by her boss. "Uh, an order is up. I've got to go." She apologized, moving around him to continue working.

Skye's Apartment

Late that night Skye moved through her apartment combing her shoulder-length blonde hair out before getting in the bed. She looked at her clock which read 1:05 and set her alarm for that morning before turning out the light and falling asleep. At 2:30, someone flipped the light back on waking Skye up.

"Hello, Skye." A husky voice greeted her.

"What the…" She asked groggily before a hand wearing a black glove was placed over her mouth. She jumped and tried to push the hand away from her and get away from the man she recognized from Quake. The same man that had sent Prue a drink.

"Shhh… You're in my world now, Skye." He told her. Her room disappeared and was replaced with sky and clouds. He pulled her from her bed and she was wearing a nice evening dress instead of the gown she had put on to sleep in. Her soft carpet was replaced with hard concrete. Skye looked around and it seemed as if she was on top of a building except everything was tinged with red. "You look beautiful in that dress. I knew you would." He complimented her, pulling her along with him as he moved about the roof.

"I don't understand." Skye admitted, trying her best to keep calm as he placed his arms around her shoulders and seductively caressed her arms.

"It's your dream, but it's my fantasy." He attempted to explain through a seductive whisper in her ear.

"Where am I?" She breathed.

He laughed at the question and moved slowly to her other side though never taking his hands off of her. "You're dreaming. I'm visiting." He clarified.

"You're in my dream?" Skye asked in confusion, turning to look over her shoulder at him.

"Yes, but I can make it mine." He replied, moving around in front of her and taking her hands in his.

"You walk." Skye observed.

"In dreams, I can do anything." He whispered and twirled her into a slow dance, his arms around her. "I can dance in your dreams." He suddenly spun her back around and placed one hand around her neck. "I can alter your dreams." He continued, lowering her down slowly. As Skye was brought back up she desperately tried to escape, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back against him. "And I can kill you in your dreams." He warned softly. He slowly led her back towards the edge of the building.

"No, please." She pleaded, unable to break away from him.

"Did you know if you die in your dreams then you die in real life?" He asked her maliciously as he lowered her over the edge of the building.

Skye grabbed hold of his arms, scared of falling off the extremely high building. "Please don't hurt me." Skye screamed, looking up into his eyes with fear as he said exactly the same thing, the same time she had.

He laughed and pulled her back up only to step up himself. "No, Skye. You rejected me and now you gotta pay." He told her, lifting her body up beside him.

"Please I'll do anything." She screamed again the same time he did as she struggled to break free of his grasp.

He teasingly pushed her closer to the edge. "Sweet dreams." He whispered, pushing her over. Skye screamed as she fell down the drop. The man laughed manically and turned away.

[Opening Credits]

Skye's Apartment

Andy and Darryl joined the other investigators early the next morning in Skye's apartment. Her body was twisted in an awkward angle as if most of her bones were broken. Andy watched grimly as pictures were taken and Darryl and he went through what they knew again.

"What do we got here? Her name is Skye Russell, early twenties, waitress at Quake." Darryl read off the sheet, his eyes glancing over at her body every now and then.

"Every bone in her body has been crushed." Andy offered, moving forward for a closer look as the investigator taking pictures moved out of his way.

"Coroner said it was as if she had fallen off a twenty story building." Darryl continued sounding skeptic, coming to stand beside his partner.

Andy glanced around the room unconvinced as well. "But we're in a closed apartment on the ground floor and the body hasn't been moved." He observed while Darryl crouched down next to Skye's body unable to contradict his partner's observations.

The Halliwell Manor

Piper stood in the Solarium trying to copy the movements of the woman on the exercise video while Prue sat in a chair behind her reading some school book that she was supposed to have read before now. After a few moments of silence between them, Piper turned away from the video.

"Ugh, I give up. Two weeks and nothing has strengthened but my temper." She hissed lying down on the exercise mat to rest.

Prue smiled faintly, welcoming the excuse to look away from the boring book and reached out to grab the video box. "Piper, here's the problem. You didn't read the fine print. See, it says right here. $19.95 for the video and twenty grand for the plastic surgeon." She explained with a raise of her eyebrows at the ridiculous price.

"Yeah, well it's worked. She's the most desired female in America. What every man wants." Piper lamented in aggravation.

"Look at it this way… There's only one of her so every man can't have her so they'll just have to settle for one of us." Prue suggested cheerfully causing Piper to frown.

"That makes me feel a lot better, Prue. Thanks." Piper returned sarcastically while Prue rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Really, though, Piper. You shouldn't care about what they want, but what you want. Don't settle." Prue advised with a shrug before turning back to her book.

"Tons of fun, lots of heat, dangerous and no strings attached. That's what I want." Phoebe offered, joining the conversation as she came in from the kitchen eating a bowl of froot loops.

"I know this may not sound very P.C. but I want romance. Long slow kisses, late-night talks, candle lights. I love love. I'd take what Prue has in a flat second." Piper replied, sitting up from the mat with a sigh. "I mean, for being twenty one Andy's perfect."

Prue bit her lip and glanced at Piper uncertainly. "You can't have Andy. He's taken." She mumbled, not sure if she should feel threatened or not by Piper's interest.

Piper quickly shook her head. "No worries, Prue. I just need to find my perfect guy." Piper assured her younger sister.

"Well, until then, at least you don't have to deal with the family secret which isn't exactly normal…" Prue offered, relaxing at Piper's assurance and hoping to enlighten the bright side. She grabbed her cup of coffee and grabbed her bag. "I've got to go. Tests." Prue explained, taking off toward the door with her stuff.

"Good luck." Phoebe called after her in which Prue waved in acknowledgement.

"When do you go into work, Pheebs?" Piper asked after she heard the door close announcing that Prue had left.

Phoebe dropped her spoon into her bowl of cereal. "I go in at 10:00. This is just testing day to see if they like my work." She answered.

Piper smiled encouragingly. "Advice columnist? Telling people what to do… I'm sure you'll excel." She laughed.

San Francisco Police Department

Andy leaned back in the chair behind his desk as he read over the Coroner's report in the Skye Russell case. "Did you see the Coroner's report?" Andy asked, looking away from the file and focusing on his partner.

Darryl looked up from his computer and gave a slight nod. "Mmm hmm… Skye Russell died of massive internal hemorrhaging. Her body literally imploded upon itself." He quoted unconvinced by the verdict.

"Have you ever seen anything like it before?" Andy asked, flipping through the rest of the file.

"Yeah, on jumpers. Their bodies were usually found on sidewalks." Darryl pointed out casually.

Andy narrowed his eyes not appreciating the humor in his remark. "There aren't any signs of external damage consistent with any type of fall. In fact there's not a scratch on her." He countered, tossing the file to Darryl who picked it up and began flipping through it.

"Yeah, well, maybe we were wrong. Maybe the body was moved." Darryl conceded, shaking his head at the information gathered. None of it made any sense.

"From where? How? The front door was locked and bolted; each window had bars on it, none of which had been tampered with in any way. Nobody but she was in that apartment last night. It's not suicide, Morris. And it's sure not death by natural causes which leaves only one thing…" Andy decided, getting up from his desk and walking up to his partner.

"Murder." Darryl finished with a sigh. "I hate it when we say that." He muttered giving Andy a nod of acknowledgement and approval for his thinking.

Quake

Piper hastily exited the kitchen and stopped beside a table with a single man writing in a notepad. She paused and placed the dish she was carrying down in front of him. "Here you go, Mr. Manford. The chicken with rice and vegetables. Just the way you like it. Chicken well done, light oil on the vegetables, and rice steamed dry." She read off quickly as if impatient.

"Thanks." Mr. Manford replied, not looking up from his work.
"Bon appetite." Piper offered with a roll of her eyes. She turned away and began picking up some plates that needed washing on her way back to the kitchen.

Phoebe walked up to her and waved pleasantly, though she eyed the plates curiously. "Hey. Why are you doing that?" She asked.

"Skye didn't show up for her shift today so we're short-handed." Piper responded shortly, none-too-pleased about the situation. Phoebe gave a slight nod in understanding and followed Piper as she turned for the kitchen. Phoebe ran ahead of Piper and held the kitchen doors open for her younger sister. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" She questioned curiously, when Phoebe didn't immediately explain her presence.

Phoebe held up a stack of papers that were in her hand. "I brought my work with me. I was hoping for a little advice to tell me if this was good enough to give to my boss." She explained with an innocent smile.

Piper glanced behind her for a moment. "I can't imagine you'd have trouble telling people how to live their lives. What do you really want?" She demanded, not buying Phoebe's explanation for a minute.

Phoebe shrugged. "Okay, fine. I, uh…" The elder Halliwell began, glancing behind her to make sure nobody was listening to them. "I found this spell. 'How to Attract a Lover.'" She finished enthusiastically.

"No, Phoebe. We're not casting any spells." Piper berated without looking over at Phoebe. She was mildly surprised Phoebe was even suggesting it as Phoebe never had trouble with guys. Then again, she seemed to like magical solutions. Piper dropped the plates into the sink in front of her for washing.

"Come on, it'll be fun. As an older sister I have a right to make sure my sisters are happy and you my sister need some help." Phoebe argued, undaunted by Piper's initial reaction.

"No, no personal gain, remember?" Piper countered, glancing up at her elder sister seriously.

Phoebe frowned a little but didn't give up. "How is it personal gain if we're bringing happiness to another person? Of course I'll cast it with you to make sure nothing goes wrong. It'll be oldest and middle sister bonding." She retorted, grinning at the thought.

"Could you pass me that colander, please?" Piper asked, pointing behind Phoebe and hoping for a change of subject.

"Yeah… but look, I'm not talking about marriage here. It's just a time to loosen up a little. We've all got jobs under control, but we shouldn't strain ourselves." Phoebe continued, not willing to let it go that easily. She followed Piper as the younger Halliwell moved to the island in the kitchen.

Piper sighed and placed the colander back down and faced her older sister. "I admit it's tempting. The dating scene can be a little frustrating, but bringing a man into our life through a spell? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that a little bit desperate?" She observed, feeling her defiance break at Phoebe's sound argument.

Phoebe smiled, seeing she had put Piper exactly where she wanted her. "No, it's desperate if we're looking for a permanent relationship. Just to loosen up? No way." She paused for dramatic effect. "Besides the Book of Shadows says we could reverse the spell at any time." Phoebe finished triumphantly. Piper bit her lip and finally gave in.

The Halliwell Manor

"Piper, Phoebe?" Prue called loudly as she walked into the kitchen to find Piper slicing up some vegetables on the counter. Prue narrowed her eyes slightly at the scene recognizing the flash of surprise and guilt in Piper's chocolate brown eyes. She shrugged to herself and dropped her bag and textbooks on the table.

"Prue! You're home. I thought you had a date with Andy…" Piper exclaimed trying to act as casual as she could despite noticing that Prue was already mildly suspicious.

"Uh, no. He had to cancel. Which is actually kinda good as I really need to study so I'll have time to work on my photographs tomorrow." Prue answered and then realized the change in subject. "What are you doing?" Prue asked, looking at the range of ingredients spread across the counter.

Before Piper could say anything, Phoebe came walking through the hallway reading the Book of Shadows. She was so entranced by the book that she didn't notice Prue. "Piper, I was wrong. The spell calls for cayenne pepper, not black pepper." Phoebe called. Phoebe waved in greeting to the youngest sister when she caught sight of her. "Hey, Prue. How was school?"

"Fine. What spell are you casting?" The youngest Halliwell asked, leaning against the table casually. She watched her elder sisters closely looking for a hint of a lie.

"I came across a spell that will help Piper loosen up a little." Phoebe explained offhandedly.

Prue's gaze flickered to Piper as if looking for confirmation. Piper smiled and hesitantly nodded. "She found something that actually makes sense…" Piper agreed, taking off her cooking apron and uncertainly meeting her younger sister's gaze.

"You don't sound too sure about that." Prue observed with narrowed eyes. She noticed Piper giving Phoebe a look that clearly said not to elaborate and Prue frowned. "Quit with the jumping around. I'm not gonna do anything." She whined. This was driving her insane.

"I just think that since it can be reversed at any time that it shouldn't be that big a deal if I cast a spell. I mean, all I want is someone special in my life. Why can't I use a little help to get it?" Piper babbled around the question.

Prue stared at her silently, trying to decipher what Piper was rambling about. "Uh… She's a little nervous about the 'personal gain' consequences." Phoebe explained, recognizing the look. "Basically, we're casting the 'Attract a Lover' spell."

Prue smirked and glanced at Piper curiously. "How'd you get Piper to agree to that one?" She giggled, looking at her sister in a new light. That definitely explained why Piper was so jumpy. Definitely not very Piper-like to go off casting spells to solve her problems.

"It wasn't too difficult." Phoebe admitted. "We were wondering if you wanted to join us. I think you're studying just a little too much." She offered, grabbing some of the spices that would be needed for the spell.

Prue looked a little surprised while Piper looked as if she wanted to protest, but didn't. Prue finally shook her head slightly. "No thanks. Girl in a serious relationship here." She reminded them, dropping into a seat at the table and pulling out her laptop. "Besides, I need to study."

"Well, you know where to find us if you need us." Phoebe replied, grabbing Piper's hand and pulling her towards the attic before she had time to think about it too much and decide against it.

"Good luck!" Prue called after them as the other two Halliwells left. She smiled to herself as she began reading through her notes.

~PO3~

Piper and Phoebe made their way quickly up the stairs in their excitement to do the spell. All in all, everything seemed to have turned out well. Piper was quite relieved that Prue didn't feel like jumping in while Phoebe was just excited that she'd gotten Piper to come along with her. Phoebe ran to the old chest that held their Wiccan materials and started pulling out candles for the ceremony. She tossed them to Piper, who stood them up in a circle around the table. While Piper set all the spices up in the middle of the circle, Phoebe lit the candles. Finally they sat down with Kit the cat around the little table, eagerly ready to begin.

"Okay, you want to go first?" Phoebe asked politely, pulling out her piece of paper that had her 'perfect man qualities' written on it.

"No, you go first." Piper insisted with a little nervousness in her voice.

"Okay." Phoebe agreed, but instead of reading off her qualities she shot toward Piper and snatched Piper's 'perfect man qualities' from her hand.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Piper snapped, trying vainly to snatch it back while her elder sister just giggled and began to read it aloud.

"You want a man who is single, smart, endowed…?" Phoebe began, narrowing her eyes at the last word and glancing toward Piper in confusion.

"Employed." Piper corrected and understanding lit Phoebe's eyes. She gave a slight nod, now recognizing the word in Piper's scribble-writing. Piper just rolled her eyes, unhappy with having to go first in the spell.

"Oh, sorry. Employed… A man who loves sleeping in on Sunday, sunset bike rides, cuddling by a roaring fire, and late night talks. A man who loves love as much as you do." Phoebe read, laughing throughout trying to read it. "Wow. You're romantic." She observed in a half-mocking, half-joking tone.

Piper just nodded and snatched Phoebe's paper from her. "Yep. Your turn. You want the sexy, silent type that finds you riding through town on the back of a Harley at 3:00 in the morning. A man who appreciates scented candles, body oils, and Italian sheets." Piper stopped reading and laughed softly.

Phoebe, grinning, took her paper back and began reading the rest of it in a mockingly dramatic voice. "He's about hunger and lust and danger and even though you know all this, even though you know he will never meet your friends or share a holiday meal with your family, you still can't stay away." She finished, her eyes flickering playfully to her laughing younger sister. Keep Piper laughing and she won't freak out. "Oh and he recycles." She added as a P.S.

"He recycles?" Piper asked, thinking it a funny quality to add amongst all the others Phoebe wanted.

"Yeah." Phoebe admitted, taking both of their papers and placing them in the bag of spices for the spell. "And I think it goes without saying that we both want a man who is well… employed." She finished pointedly.

Piper shook her head at the meaning her older sister was suggesting. "You're seriously twisted." She responded and then looked down at the Book of Shadows in front of her and read over the spell. "This is the spell we have to say?" Piper wondered in surprise. It was very simple.

Phoebe glanced over and gave a slight nod. "Yeah. We're lucky. If we were men looking for women the spell requires putting a piece of honey cake in a sweaty armpit for days." Phoebe agreed, tossing the little bag into the pot surrounded by the candles.

"Ew… I think we can say this." Piper commented, leaning over the book.

Phoebe grinned and nodded in excitement. "I conjure thee, I conjure thee. I am the queen you're the bee, as I desire so shall it be. I conjure thee, I conjure thee. I am the queen you're the bee, as I desire so shall it be." The two sisters chanted as a sudden wind blew around them and the Wiccan pot began to smoke. As suddenly as it had started there was a pop where the smoke formed the shape of a heart over the pot and then it subsided, leaving silence between the two sisters. They both glanced at each other excitedly.

"Do you think it worked?" Phoebe whispered eagerly though afraid of breaking the silence.

"I don't know. The big spells usually require all three of us…" Piper pointed out, just as quietly. Below, the sound of the phone ringing echoed through the quiet house. Phoebe and Piper grinned, taking off down the stairs hoping it was for one of them. When they arrived at the bottom of the stairs Prue was on the phone.

"Is it for me?" Phoebe and Piper asked at the same time, halting beside their sister.

"This is Prue. Who is this? Um, I'm sorry, do I know you?" Prue asked into the phone while silence fell over the other two sisters who crowded around Prue to hear the conversation.

"Yeah. We met at Quake. Well, we didn't actually meet. I sent you a glass of Chardonnay and you sent it back. Still, I was wondering, maybe you'd like to go out sometime." The husky voice of the drink-sender and murderer of Skye Russell stated through the phone. Prue bit her lip slightly at the invitation. Prue's uncertainty immediately alerted her older sisters to suspicious activity and they leaned forward to better hear.

"Um, look, as I told the waitress, I'm just not available. How'd you get my number, my name?" Prue wondered into the phone. On the other end he hung up at the rejection. "Hello?" Prue called but realized he'd hung up on her so she put the phone back on the receiver.

"Who was it?" Phoebe asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"The guy from Quake who sent me a drink." Prue mumbled distracted by his apparent persistence bordering on stalking.

"And what did he want?" Piper inquired, a bit of nervousness mixed in with her suspicion.

"He asked me out." Prue answered, still pondering.

Phoebe's frown deepened. "Did you tell him anything?" She interrogated.

Prue shook her head quickly. "No, but he obviously got my number and my name from somewhere…" Prue admitted.

"Okay, Piper, lock all the doors… You don't work the night shift tonight, do you?" Phoebe questioned, glancing back at Piper.

"No." Piper replied. "I'm gonna guess that none of us are leaving tonight, right?"

"Correct. Prue, if you see him again, you tell us. I'm going to go call Andy and report him." Phoebe decided, taking up the phone that Prue had just dropped.

Prue's hand shot out and stopped Phoebe from grabbing it. "Don't call Andy now. It's not that big of a deal. If I see or hear from him again, then you can call Andy." Prue pleaded.

Phoebe's brown eyes met Prue's pleading blue ones and she sighed. "Fine, but we're still locking the doors and you have to promise to say something if you see him again."

"Promise." Prue agreed before glancing back at her work that littered the table. "I think I'm going to take a bath…" She was getting a migraine. Prue watched Piper and Phoebe move to the kitchen to talk before heading up to her bathroom. She turned the hot water on and poured in some bubble bath. While it was filling up she lit the candles placed sporadically around the bathroom, choosing a lighter and softer source of light instead of blinding light bulbs. Prue finally allowed herself to relax in her bath tub after the long day filled with school work and then stopping by the magazine studio. She closed her eyes but her sleep was interrupted, or so she thought, by a man placing his gloved hand harshly against her face.

"Hello, Prue." Skye Russell's murderer greeted her softly.

Prue jumped awake in surprise accidently sending a splash of water over the lip of the tub. "Who the hell…" Prue began demanding an explanation, trying her best to hide her fear, but the murderer caught her off guard by finishing her thought.

"… Am I and how did I get in? Hmmm…?" He suggested with a grin.

"I don't care just…"

"Get out of the bathroom?" He finished again.

Prue's eyes flickered to the door and her hand shot over the edge of the tub to grab the towel that she set out on the floor. "Piper, Phoebe help!" She screamed at the same time he said it as well. He laughed taking hold of the towel that she was desperately trying to get. Prue's eyes flashed and she jerked the towel out of his hand pulling it to her.

"Scream all you want. No one can help you." He warned, leaning toward her.

"How did you know…?" Prue began to ask hesitantly when once again he finished her thought for her.

"What you are thinking? What you're going to say?" He offered.

Prue let out a shaky breath. "Yes…" She breathed.

The murderer closed his eyes as if thinking of how to phrase the answer. "I'm in your unconscious. I know your every thought and desire." He answered.

"Who are you?" Prue demanded, wrapping the towel she had acquired around herself while he was distracted with the questions.

His hand reached out to stroke her hair and she flinched away from his touch. "I'm the man of your dreams." He replied cryptically. Around them, her bathroom disappeared to be replaced with the roof of a building scenery as seen previously with Skye Russell. The only difference was the bath tub, Prue, and everything was tinged with blue instead of red.

Prue narrowed her eyes at the change and decided this just couldn't be real. At least she hoped it wasn't. "You're not real. You don't exist." She told him, focusing all her energy on trying to make him disappear like she used to be able to do when she had nightmares.

He just laughed softly at her. "That's what your mother used to say, isn't it? Every night, before you went to sleep?" He asked rhetorically.

Prue let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate more. "You are not real. You don't exist." She repeated and kept whispering it under her breath, willing it to work.

"As she tucked you in? She'd say if you saw any monsters to tell yourself they weren't real." He continued to taunt her. He slowly got up from beside her and grabbed a sponge from the bath tub and walked to her other side. Prue kept her eyes closed, trying desperately not to panic when he didn't disappear. "They didn't exist?" He finished, reaching out with the sponge to touch her shoulder.

She flinched away from his grasp and tried to get away from him, but something held her still. "I can't move. Why can't I move?" Prue whispered fearfully as he caressed her shoulders with the sponge.

"Because I'm going to love you to death." He replied in a seductive whisper. He pressed the sponge on her shoulder and rubbed it so hard down her back that it cut deeply into her skin, making her bleed. She gasped at the pain and vainly tried to move away again as he laughed maliciously at her helplessness. He dropped the sponge and shoved her roughly under the water in an effort to drown her. Prue struggled in his grasp under the water to no avail, but suddenly heard a knock on the door.

She jumped awake and shot out from under the water. Her eyes flickered around her only to find no dream guy and she gasped for air in relief.

Piper opened the door, staring with concern at Prue who was in a stunned silence. "Prue? Are you okay?" She asked uncertainly.

"No." Prue managed to say, rubbing soap and water away from her eyes as she practically jumped out of the bath tub.

"You were yelling. What happened?" Piper demanded, reaching out to steady Prue when the youngest Halliwell stumbled in her haste to get away.

"Yeah, I had a… a really bad thing." Prue whimpered. She didn't know how to explain what had happened, especially not just now with her thoughts in as much disarray as they were. She gripped the towel tighter around her at just the thought of the dream guy.

"A thing?" Piper repeated, raising her eyebrows. She looked closer at Prue when Prue's hand moved to touch her shoulder. Piper's eyes widened. "Prue, are you bleeding?"

Prue didn't respond as she began to panic more at the sight of the blood on her hand. "Piper, he was here. I saw him." She mumbled, turning teary blue eyes to her older sister.

"Okay, Prue, calm down. It's okay." Piper assured her, pulling Prue into her arms. She looked over her shoulder at the door. "Phoebe!" She yelled, carefully leading Prue to the counter where she sat the younger sister down.

Prue flinched as Piper lightly touched her shoulder. They both turned as the stairs creaked announcing Phoebe running up the stairs. Prue's panic continued to rise at what he had done to her and what he could have done.

~PO3~

The next morning Phoebe dropped into a chair next to Piper as the middle Halliwell sister drank her morning coffee. Both elder sisters looked tired. At least until Phoebe stole Piper's coffee causing Piper to look very much alive when she glared at Phoebe. "Did you ever manage to get Prue to sleep?" Phoebe asked quickly in order to divert Piper's attention to something else.

Piper fell for it as she always had and frowned in worry. "She hardly slept at all. Do you remember what Mom used to say about nightmares?" She questioned curiously.

"Yep, she said to tell monsters to go away and that they didn't exist." Phoebe answered promptly.

"Well, I tried to tell Prue that to at least try and help a little, but it didn't help. I just had to stay up with her all night. You should have seen her. She was terrified of falling asleep." Piper stressed, running a hand through her hair.

"Poor girl." Phoebe sighed. "At least it's Saturday. She doesn't have to do anything." She offered to lighten the mood.

Piper shook her head in disagreement. "She insists on going to work on her magazine. I was supposed to wake her up if she fell asleep, but I couldn't. I mean, she's exhausted." Piper exclaimed.

"Between that magazine and her school, she works way too much." Phoebe agreed.

There was a short silence that fell between the two sisters. "So, did you talk to Andy?" Piper finally asked.

"No, he wasn't there. I talked to Morris, Andy's mentor/partner guy. I gave him the description and claimed the Dream guy was stalking Prue." Phoebe replied, taking another gulp of hot coffee. "But if he keeps attacking and hurting her, we're gonna have to come up with a different story." She added, obviously hoping it wouldn't come to that.

"Ugh!" Piper groaned, dropping her head onto the table.

Phoebe chuckled softly before getting back to her feet. "I'll be right back." Piper didn't respond except to wave her hand in acknowledgement.

Prue came in only a few minutes after Phoebe disappeared. She dragged herself to the table and dropped down in the seat Phoebe had been sitting in. Her camera was strapped around her neck and she had a bag that she sat on the floor next to her chair. "Is there any coffee?" Prue mumbled, almost inaudibly.

Piper pushed her mostly gone cup of coffee that Phoebe had stolen and left behind to Prue. She did glance up curiously. She noted that Prue must really be tired because she wasn't complaining about not being woken up on time. "How are those cuts?" Piper inquired gently, a look of worry still in her eyes.

"They're gone." Prue answered, her hand moving to gently touch where the Dream guy had cut through her skin the night before. They still felt sore, but when she'd looked in the mirror they hadn't been there.

Piper raised her eyebrows in confusion. "What? How is that possible?" She demanded. Prue just shrugged, finally looking up to meet Piper's eyes. "Last night… why didn't you move him away?" Piper questioned.

"I… don't know." Prue admitted softly. Her mouth dropped and she looked incredibly confused when she saw a very handsome young man (with his shirt off which shown his amazing muscles) join them in the kitchen.

"Morning." He called, walking to the refrigerator.

Prue and Piper stared in stunned silence, no doubt attracted to him. Both sisters exchanged glances with each other as the man pulled out the milk jug and downed what was left. Piper finally spoke up after being nudged into speaking by Prue's foot that stomped on hers. "Uh, who are you and what are you doing in our house?" Piper demanded, as politely as she could in her surprise. Piper made a face that clearly said she could care less since he was so attractive and Prue giggled uncontrollably.

Phoebe came back in at that moment and cast a knowing look at her sisters. "Hans, I found your t-shirt." She stated with a grin to them. She stopped next to them and leaned forward. "I picked him up at the police station." Phoebe whispered in explanation.

"Was it in the hammock or…" Hans began to ask, placing the empty milk jug on the counter and walking over to meet Phoebe. He took his shirt from her and pulled it on.

"It doesn't matter…" Phoebe replied, grinning. Piper glanced over at Prue and mouthed 'hammock?' A faint blush fell across Prue's cheeks and she ducked her head, trying to stifle the laughter.

"I gotta run. I'll meet you later for lunch." Hans told her, pulling Phoebe into a quick kiss.

"Okay." Phoebe agreed as he pulled away from her.

"Oops, I almost forgot." He turned back to the counter and dropped the empty milk jug into the recycling bin next to the trash can before leaving.

Phoebe finally turned to her curious sisters, glowing. "We had safe sex." She assured, being sure to set the example. "… a lot of safe sex." She couldn't resist but add.

"Ew…" Piper whispered, turning away from Phoebe. Prue just nodded, still laughing.

San Francisco Police Department

Andy slid several large files across Morris' desk for him to look over. "It's all right here in their F.B.I. files." He stated, taking a sip from his coffee cup.

"Why do you do this to me?" Morris asked rhetorically, pulling them closer so he could look at them for his partner.

"Three young women completely unrelated except for the fact that they all died the exact same way as the waitress." Andy summarized the contents of the files, ignoring Darryl's complaining. He turned away, awaiting Darryl's response.

"The medical examiner listed them all as jumpers, case closed." Darryl read with a nod.

"Look at the crime photos, all the Vics were found locked in their rooms. We've got the MO of a serial killer here, Morris." Andy continued, walking back to Darryl after refilling his coffee mug.

Darryl pulled the pictures out and glanced through them before putting them back up realizing his partner was onto something. "We'll look into it, but we also have your girlfriend's case." He pointed out.

Andy's head snapped around to look at Darryl. "Prue? What case?" Andy demanded in confusion, a feeling of dread swept through him.

"Her stalker. Did she not tell you?" Darryl wondered, seeming just as confused. Andy shook his head and waved for Darryl to explain. "Oh, well, her sister, um, Phoebe, showed up last night at like 2 looking for you. She claimed Prue had a guy stalking her. Gave a description and I told her we'd look into it and that they should just lay low until we can figure it out." He elaborated.

Andy's frown deepened at the explanation. "Good. I'm going to go call her real quick." He decided. He had to make sure she was okay. Phoebe usually wouldn't ask for help unless it was really bad. Andy received a nod from Darryl and moved to his desk where he picked up the phone.

Quake

Piper left the kitchen carrying somebody's food in one hand while her other hand held a phone to her ear.

"Look, Piper, I'm fine. It's been like an hour and you, Phoebe, and Andy have all called to check on me. I can't get anything done." Prue exclaimed into the phone. The desk she was allowed to use while working had her school books spread across the table that she was obviously working on. Her chair was swiveled so that she could keep an eye on the dark room where her pictures were being developed. The red light was supposed to flash after the end of an hour which meant she could take them out of the solution.

Piper sighed loudly and would have thrown her hands in the air dramatically if either of them had been free. "Okay, okay. I'll tell everyone to stop calling. Just don't stay out too late." She consented reluctantly.

Prue didn't respond immediately as Hannah, looking as smug and hostile as ever, stopped in front of Prue's desk. "Did you finish those pictures yet?" Hannah demanded, offering a sickly sweet smile.

"Um, they're in the dark room now." Prue answered hesitantly.

Hannah's smile faded to a frown. "Well, I need them done today…"

"All of them?" Prue interrupted in disbelief.

"Yeah. And don't forget the articles for each of them and designing the layout." Hannah continued, almost daring Prue to argue with her.

Prue remained silent though her eyes flashed angrily. "I thought your job was to put the magazine together…" Prue pointed out, careful to keep her voice even.

"Now it's yours. Rex and I have other, more important, business to take care of." Hannah explained as if talking to a child. "Good luck, Ms. Halliwell. I expect it to be on my desk by 6:00 tomorrow morning." With that she spun around and left.

Prue groaned and turned her attention back to Piper, who sounded as if she was thinking of ways to teach Hannah a lesson. "Um, Piper, don't worry about it. I gotta go." She insisted. Prue hung up quickly before Piper even had a chance to respond. She took a moment to compose herself before pulling her laptop toward her to try and figure out the best layout for each page.

~PO4~

Piper sighed and irritably threw the phone on the nearest empty table for her to pick up later and proceeded to take the plate of food that she was still holding to Mr. Manford. "Mr. Manford, here you go. Chicken, rice, and veggies just the way you like it." Piper told him and then turned to leave. She halted when Mr. Manford actually spoke back to her.

"Thank you, and please call me, Jack." He offered, turning in his seat to look at her better. Piper hesitated before turning back and regarding him with curiosity. Mr. Manford took his glasses off, his eyes not leaving Piper. "Has anyone ever told you how truly beautiful you are?" He wondered.

"Have you been drinking?" Piper asked, laughing and taking a few hesitant steps toward Jack.

In response, Jack laughed and shook his head. "A sense of humor. I love that." He commented while Piper just forced a laugh. Piper quickly turned to leave before the conversation could get any more awkward and weird. "Wait, Piper, don't go. I don't know why, but I have to get to know you. Have dinner with me." Mr. Manford suggested, hopefully.

"Can you hang on a second?" Piper pleaded.

"Yeah." Jack whispered while Piper gave a slight nod and turned away, heading towards the kitchen. She grabbed her phone when she passed by and leaned casually against the kitchen door as soon as she was obscured from view. Piper didn't notice one of her chefs walk up behind her. She felt eyes on her and she turned her head slightly. Piper smiled politely more than a little creeped out when he leaned against the wall in beside of her.

"You know, you shouldn't have dinner with that guy." He stated slowly. Piper regarded him with polite curiosity though in truth she wanted to punch him in the face. "Why not?" She asked instead of her initial reaction.

"Because you should fly to Paris with me." He explained and then went silent waiting on her answer.

Piper turned away and clenched the phone in her hand. "Get back to work." She ordered, praying that he would actually listen to her. He reluctantly backed away and Piper began dialing the number to Phoebe.

The Bay Mirror

Phoebe was sitting on the edge of her desk, flipping absently through some pages while talking to Piper on speaker. "It's just the spell working." Phoebe assured Piper when the middle Halliwell called and seemed to be freaking out. "If you don't want to go out with them than just tell them to beat it. They're not going to attack you." She added with a laugh.

"Talk softer, Phoebe. I'm at work!" Piper exclaimed, nervously glancing around herself to make sure no one was paying attention. Lucky for her, they weren't.

"I'm at work too. Oh and you're on speaker by the way." Phoebe laughed, awaiting her sister's scolding. She leaned casually back against her monitor and opened up another envelope that littered her desk. Phoebe wouldn't have been disappointed as "Phoebe!" sounded out of the speaker. "Relax, Piper. There's no one here. So what would you say to someone that is afraid of living on their own, but is getting kicked out of where they currently live?" She suddenly asked.

On the other side of the line, Piper rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'd tell her to get a life." Piper answered shortly.

"I don't think that's what they're looking for. How about she get a dog?" Phoebe suggested, mostly to herself. She nodded thoughtfully, seeming to like that idea and spun around so that she could type it into her column. "Anyways, back to the spell, isn't it cool? I mean, Hans was only at the police station because he got a flat tire on his motorcycle on the way back from his acting classes. The police helped him out." Phoebe continued.

Piper stayed silent through Phoebe's predictable story. "Sounds more like hormones to me." She argued.

Phoebe shrugged despite Piper being unable to see her. "Whatever, we're going to lunch so I've got to go. Some advice: just talk to one of the guys. You'll see." Phoebe suggested before hanging up and running out to meet Hans, who was waiting outside her office. Hans picked her up and spun her around before cheerfully pulling Phoebe out with him.

The Halliwell Manor

Piper and Phoebe sat in the Foyer, putting on finishing touches for their dates while Piper filled Phoebe in on Jack. She worded her explanation so that Phoebe thought she was having fun with the spell though she didn't find it as appealing as her elder sister. In fact, she wanted to get rid of this guy as quickly as possible.

"So Jack stayed through the entire lunch shift, talked my ear off, had me laughing at all his stories, and somehow convinced me to have coffee with him." Piper related the day's events to her eldest sister as Phoebe bent down to tie the straps of her shoes.

"Hans and I are going dancing at the Rave. You and Jack should come join us." Phoebe offered cheerfully after Piper had sat down next to her on the couch.

Piper smiled a little at the offer but didn't want Phoebe to see how unhappy she was with how the spell turned out for her. Not to mention they probably wouldn't be able to make it anyways. She decided to give Phoebe the latter excuse. "Well, if our dinner date lasts as long as our coffee break, we wouldn't make it there 'til closing." She replied and Phoebe giggled at the response.

"Maybe we can all meet back at the house later." She suggested, getting to her feet and grabbing her jacket off the hook next to the door. Phoebe turned back to see Piper watching her and hesitated before going out the door. "You're lying, aren't you?" Phoebe guessed.

"Yeah." Piper responded truthfully. She forced a smile at Phoebe and shrugged. "I think I'm going to reverse the spell after I get back from telling Jack off again." She admitted.

Phoebe nodded in understanding. "Do you want me to help? I mean, I can tell Hans I'll be late…" She offered but Piper shook her head quickly.

"No, go party. I can handle it." Piper insisted. Phoebe hesitated a moment longer before waving and walking out the door.

The Dream Lab

Andy and Darryl arrived at the Dream Lab later that night to question one of the researchers. Darryl flashed his police mark to the attendant on duty and he led them to a room where they could wait. The room was set up similarly to that of a dentist's office with the plastic chairs, but the machinery set up was ahead of the time it seemed.

"So this is a dream lab? They actually pay people to sleep here?" Darryl questioned in surprise, but he didn't appear to be impressed. He was more skeptic that people got paid for something as easy as sleeping, especially with a drug boost.

"If you wait here, I'll tell Mr. Berman you would like to speak with him." The attendant offered, leaving them in the empty room.

"Thank you." Andy replied politely, watching the attendant leave before taking a few moments to survey his surroundings with interest. After the attendant left Darryl turned to his partner with a quick word of caution.

"I'll do the talking, rookie. And remember, just because Berman dated the first victim…" He began, but Andy cut him off.

"Julie Derickson."

"… Doesn't make him a killer." Darryl finished his warning, satisfied when Andy gave him a slight nod.

"Yeah, but it's a great place to start. It's our only place to start…" Andy muttered, tapping Darryl on the shoulder and pointing to the room with the chair. He led the way into the adjoining room.

"What do you know about this place anyways?" Darryl asked as he followed Andy.

"Just that Julie Derickson worked here too. She and Berman were teamed together on some kind of experimental project."Andy answered and then fell silent as Berman entered the room in his wheelchair. Andy's eyes flickered calculatingly over Berman.

"Hello, Inspectors. How may I help you?" Berman greeted stopping in the original room the attendant had left Andy and Darryl in.

The two officers didn't answer until they had returned to the other room and reached Berman. "Are you Whitaker Berman?" Darryl began the informal interrogation while Andy hung back a few steps.

"Yes, what's this about?" Berman asked, feigning ignorance of this investigation.

"We're conducting an investigation. We'd like to ask you a few questions." Darryl replied, giving a slight nod to Andy to show him the pictures.

"Regarding?" Berman wondered, turning to Andy who stepped forward and passed him a photo from one of the files.

"Do you know this woman?" Andy questioned and then fell silent watching Berman intently for signs of recognition or lying.

"That's Julie Derickson. She was my girlfriend. I was heartbroken when she…" He trailed off; acting grieved by her death and handed the picture back to Andy who took it from him. "Forgive me, it's just very hard. I still miss her." Berman apologized.

"Another woman died just like her the other night. A waitress, crushed to death in her sleep." Andy explained their presence while watching how this new revelation would affect Berman. He ignored the warning look that Darryl sent at him.

"You're kidding." Berman stated slowly.

"No." Darryl responded shortly while Berman turned to look at him.

"That… That's awful." Berman commented, glancing back at Andy as he took a step forward.

"Mr. Berman, could you tell us your whereabouts the night before last?" Andy demanded, not satisfied with the experimenter's reaction to their news. He was too calm and too cold.

"I was here in the lab asleep. I left in the morning." Berman answered promptly.

"Any witnesses who can confirm that?" Darryl asked.

"A nights worth of day, two scientists, and a lab technician. Shall I have them paged?" Berman suggested almost daring the two cops to say yes. Andy's eyes narrowed, but he looked away, unable to prove his suspicions at the present time.

"No that's okay, Mr. Berman. Sorry we disturbed you. Thank you for your time." Darryl replied, pulling lightly on Andy's arm for them to leave. Andy led the way out, leaving Whitaker Berman alone in the room.

Quake

Piper was suffering through her date with Jack, beginning to get frustrated at his undying interest in her. She was running out of things to say that could potentially turn him off.

"What else can I tell you…? When I get stressed, I get hives in very strange places. Which is nothing compared to what happens when I panic, believe me." She lied hoping to scare him off. She crossed her arms with satisfaction. Surely, he would leave now… Nope.

Instead, Jack smiled and nodded. "Your honesty is so refreshing." He complimented causing Piper to sigh, but she recovered quickly.

"Well, it helps keep my ulcer under control." Piper admitted. Since the spell was cast to attract a guy to her, she was hoping that something that wouldn't be attractive in her mind would break the spell. Unfortunately, the idea was better than the actual results.

"It's the nineties. I mean, is there anyone who doesn't have one?" Jack asked rhetorically, leaning closer to her instead of away as Piper had hoped.

Piper bit her lip before forcing a smile and leaning forward in false eagerness. "Would you like to see my tattoo?" She questioned hastily.

"Would you like to see mine?" Jack countered, leaning even closer to Piper, as if everything she said attracted him closer to her.

"Uh… Is there nothing I can say to turn you off?" Piper wondered, with a slight shake of her head.

"There really isn't." Jack answered immediately. He pulled away for a brief moment as if he just realized that his answer was weird. "Which is kind of strange actually." He commented, but didn't really appear fazed by the phenomenon.

"Not really…" Piper replied and then decided to tell him the truth. She figured worst case scenario he would think she was being funny or figurative. "Jack you're under a…." She trailed off as Jack leaned forward and kissed her. Piper raised her eyebrows awkwardly and was extremely thankful when he pulled away. "… Spell." She finished in a whisper. She smiled politely at him, but caught sight of another man waving and checking her out from behind Jack. She forced a smile that faded ever-so-slightly upon seeing another man holding a wine glass and winking at her from one of the doorways to an adjoining room. Piper laughed nervously when she heard someone talking to her from behind.

"Hey there." He said and she turned uncertainly around to find a man offering her a white rose. Piper ignored him and looked back at Jack before admitting a freaked-out laugh. She glanced around at all the guys and fell silent trying desperately to think of some way out of this predicament.

Dream Lab

Mr. Berman pulled himself out of his wheelchair and onto the chair where he conducted his experiments for dream leaping. One lab technician helped him up while another began to connect all the machinery needed to him.

"Give me thirty cc's of Vandereen." Mr. Berman ordered once he was settled as comfortably as possible in the chair.

The lab technician that was putting the shot together looked over at him uncertainly. "Thirty cc's? That's twice…" He began to argue against the wisdom of that order, but he was cut off harshly by Mr. Berman.

"I'll be in REM sleep quicker and longer. Set the dream inducement to level 12." Mr. Berman continued, ignoring the advice of the other technicians.

"We haven't got the results back from level eight." The technician warned.

Mr. Berman, annoyed with the technician, grabbed roughly onto his arm and pulled him down. "This is my dream. My experiment. Set the machine and give me the shot." Mr. Berman snapped, causing the technician to nod nervously and follow his orders.

The Magazine Studio

Prue stared at the computer, her chin resting on her hand as she attempted to finish up the magazine layout. Her eyes burned from the long hours with the computer so she didn't notice when the computer fell into sleep mode. All she knew was that everything was much more comfortable with only the desk lamp as a light source. She dropped her head onto her arms, her eyes watching for the red light that announced her pictures were ready to be taken out of the solution. Prue hadn't expected to fall asleep but the silence of the empty building and only the lamp as light lulled her as surely as her bedroom would have. Whitaker Berman, once again, took control of her unconscious.

"Hello, Prue. We meet again." He greeted, sitting in the chair behind her desk while Prue slowly opened her eyes and glanced up at him in confusion. "All that work, all those hours. You fell asleep at your desk." Berman explained, relaxing back into his chair. The women's initial reaction to him was always the best part. Prue's eyes flashed with understanding and her hand shot out to grab a letter opener that was on her desk, so as not to be totally defenseless like last time.

"Help!" She screamed, despite being sure that there was no one else in the building that could help her. Her office disappeared and she was back on top of the building, the clouds tinged with red this time. Prue desperately glanced around for a way out. Any way out.

"What do you hide from at work? Is it the pain of your past or the uncertainty of your future?" He asked, getting up out of his chair and slowly approaching a struggling Prue.

"I don't hide from anything." Prue hissed, trying to get out of the chair, but just like last time she found she couldn't move.

"Can't move out of the chair, can you?" Berman observed with satisfaction. He grabbed hold of the back of the chair and spun it around dangerously fast until Prue faced him. "Don't you wonder why?" There was manic gleam in his eyes as he began to roll the chair toward the edge of the building with Prue still struggling to get free. "Because I don't want you to. You're powerless, Prue." Berman answered his own question for Prue's benefit.

"Go to Hell." Prue snapped, finally settling back into the chair. There had to be another way to get free, struggling obviously wasn't doing anything.

Berman ignored her outburst and continued as if he had been uninterrupted. "I, on the other hand, am the all-powerful. If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine. There's always Piper, Phoebe, or any number of young single women out there. It's an endless pool for the dream sorcerer." He warned with a grin that sent chills down Prue's spine. Fear flashed through her blue eyes, but it wasn't the fact that the chair was moving closer to the edge of the building. It was for her sisters. He knew about them. He could hurt them.

"No, wait, I'll stay." She pleaded, anything to keep her sisters safe.

"It's too late. You're falling asleep." Berman laughed and Prue shook her head defiantly.

"No, I'm fine. I'm awake." She countered, her desperation beginning to switch into hysteria.

"Shall I sing you a lullaby?" Berman suggested, halting the chair just on the edge of the building.

"I don't think so." Prue hissed and slammed her foot up, kicking him, and stabbing his hand with the letter opener that she had gotten off her desk.

He screamed in pain and anger. Before Prue could do anything, he had roughly shoved her back into the chair and spun it to face the edge. "Good night, Prue." Berman yelled over her scream. He pushed the chair to the edge when a phone ringing woke Prue up with a jolt.

She was again back in her office, alone, with her cell phone jingle echoing through the eerie silence. Prue frantically grabbed at her phone, trying to hold herself together for the person on the other end.

"Hello?" Prue answered hastily, swinging her chair around away from the door and where the Dream Sorcerer had sat. Tears shot in her eyes that she attempted to keep from being heard in her voice.

"Hi, you at your house?" Andy wondered, his smile evident in his voice.

Prue let out a shaky breath. "Um, not exactly." She whispered, flinching at the slight break in her voice. She drew her legs up into her chair and rested her head on her knees while clutching the phone as if her life depended on it.

"You're still at the studio?" He guessed skeptically. He was about to start scolding her when he thought about her voice. It sounded strained or barely controlled… was it fear? He suddenly remembered her stalker. "Everything okay?" He asked gently, the worry radiating off his voice.

Prue shook her head despite him being unable to see her. "C-can I come see you?" She pleaded.

"Sure. Do you want me to come get you?" Andy questioned. He was already grabbing his jacket and his keys.

"No. No, it's okay. I'll drive. Meet you there." Prue insisted nervously.

Andy paused uncertainly. He wasn't supposed to leave. Darryl had just gone to get coffee, but still… He didn't want Prue to drive as she was obviously upset about something. Andy sighed, knowing Prue, she probably wouldn't wait for him to pick her up anyway. "I'm at the Station House." He stated reluctantly.

"Okay, bye…" Prue breathed before quickly hanging up with her boyfriend. Without looking up she placed her phone in her purse and started grabbing her stuff together. She still had the letter opener gripped tight in her other hand so when she spun around to find Rex right behind her, she screamed and threatened to stab him with it before she realized who it was.

"Bloody Hell." Rex cursed, leaping back at Prue's unexpected threat. He stared at her in surprise, but she didn't notice. Prue's eyes focused on the letter opener in her hand that was already dripping with blood that was running down her hand.

San Francisco Police Department

"The man is in a wheelchair. He's got no motive and he's got an alibi. So tell me again why you think Berman is our suspect." Darryl replied to his partner's insistence that Berman was/is the murderer.

Andy didn't look up at him and continued studying the files for information that could back him up. Andy smiled triumphantly to himself and leaned back in his chair to look up at Darryl. "Dream leaping." He answered simply.

"Dream leaping?" Darryl repeated in confusion and disbelief. He fell silent waiting for an elaboration on Andy's part.

"That's what Berman's researching at the lab. Dream leaping. The ability to project himself into someone else's dreams." Andy explained with confidence while Darryl's look of disbelief strengthened.

"Into women's dreams and killing them? Now who's dreaming?" He muttered, sitting down on his desk across from Andy.

Andy rolled his eyes and was suddenly defensive. "Not just any women. Women that reject him. Just like Julie Derickson did. She broke up with him when they were driving somewhere. He got into an accident. That's why he's paralyzed." He clarified. Darryl raised his eyebrows prompting an explanation for how his partner knew this stuff. "It's all there in the police report" Andy added, getting to his feet and grabbing his coat as he continued his explanation. "The day after he went back to work in the lab, Julie Derickson died suspiciously. Six months later two more women died in their sleep. Crushed to death. Coincidence? You tell me." He challenged turning to face Darryl.

Darryl frowned a little at his partner's logic. "Love to. Can't." He allowed, reaching for his jacket. "I'll get Brason to come with us. Be ready in ten minutes." Darryl ordered as he walked out the door to find the other officer that would be accompanying them.

Andy smirked triumphantly and dropped back into his seat while reaching for his phone to call Prue. Out of curiousity, he pulled out the police report on her stalker as he listened to the waiting ring. His gaze scanned over the picture of the suspect and he nearly dropped the phone. Phoebe's description was right on. The face of Whitaker Berman stared back at him from the page. A feeling of dread swept through him and he practically ran out to where Darryl had disappeared, still holding his cell in his hand. "The number you have called has been disconnected. Please hang up and try again…" Andy's frown deepened and he glanced over the number he had dialed. Definitely Prue's. Her number wasn't disconnected. He'd just talked to her fifteen minutes ago. In fact, she should be here now and she wasn't. "Darryl." Andy called gruffly for his partner's attention.

The Halliwell Manor

"I'm home." Phoebe shouted through the house the moment she entered. She noticed a few vases of flowers along the Foyer that Piper had left after the long sorting that she, Piper, had partaken in when she'd gotten home. As Phoebe walked through on her way to the kitchen she grabbed a small bundle of flowers and a piece of chocolate that she ate. She halted upon entering the kitchen and seeing flowers after flowers with Piper barely visible among them.

"You're home early." Piper commented with false cheeriness as she caught sight of Phoebe.

"Yeah, so are you." Phoebe retorted sitting her small bundle down next to all the vases of flowers and undoing her jacket. "What's with all the flowers? Did your 'fight' with Jack work already?" She asked slowly.

"I wish." Piper muttered, sitting back in her chair and causing her sister to look at her questioningly.

"The flowers were all on the doorstep when I got home..." Piper started. "…They're from men I barely know and men I've never met." Piper finished, voicing her main problem with the situation. "All the flowers in here are for you." She added while Phoebe picked up a large vase and moved it off her seat and forced it onto the table with the other flowers.

"Oh, well. I know they're not from Hans." Phoebe replied, her voice a higher pitch from a half-funny situation.

"What happened?" Piper prompted for an explanation for the sudden change of attitude.

Phoebe's eyes narrowed at some unpleasant event and Piper raised her eyebrows curiously. "He wouldn't leave me alone all night. He kept touching me and practically every guy at the bar was hitting on me. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I ditched Hans and left him at the club." Phoebe explained. "So what happened with your date if the fighting didn't work out?" She asked Piper with false merriment, shifting the attention to her.

Piper shrugged. "Everything was perfect, even my faults were perfect." Piper responded, her bad mood showing through in her voice.

"I thought you would have reversed the spell by now." Phoebe commented.

Piper sighed and gave a slight nod as she sat her coffee mug down on the table. "I was. I just didn't know if it would reverse yours too and I didn't want to ruin your date so I haven't yet." Piper explained, thoroughly upset with the let-down of a spell.

"Mmm… well, now that we know you can't replicate love for fun. We can end it." Phoebe allowed. She turned her head at the sound of loud meows where she found lots of cats trying to crawl through the closed windows. "Eh, even our poor cat's in Hell." She remarked, reaching out and grabbing Kit up off the floor. "Go away, horny tomcats." Phoebe ordered though they showed no sign of following her orders.

"Let's reverse the spell now." Piper suggested eagerly. Phoebe nodded but further conversation was ended by the sound of the phone ringing through the house. Piper got to her feet and picked up the phone off the counter while Phoebe let Kit back down and leaned back comfortably in her chair. "Hello? Prue, where are you?" Piper answered, suddenly sounding worried. With a stab of guilt she realized that she'd been so focused on her guy problems she forgot to be watching out for Prue. Phoebe's head snapped over at the word 'Prue' and Piper's obvious worry.

~PO3~

At Bucklands, after successfully getting Rex to leave, Prue continued frantically gathering all her supplies together while she called her sisters for some help. "I'm uh, still at the studio. I-I fell asleep and that m-man from my dream, he tried to kill me again." Prue explained through her tears, gathering everything in her arms.

"What?" Piper replied, stunned. Phoebe's gaze darkened in worry as Piper failed to control her own fear.

"Piper, if I fall asleep he's gonna come back. I'm as good as dead. I can't fight him." She whimpered.

"Well, stay where you are. We'll come get you." Piper promised, but on the other end Prue shook her head despite knowing they couldn't see her.

Prue couldn't even think about staying in the room any longer. "No, I don't want to stay here another minute." Prue snapped fearfully. "Look, I'm gonna go stay with Andy. The station is closer and you can come pick me up there." She insisted.

Piper frowned uncertainly but reluctantly agreed. "Phoebe, go get the car." She hissed before turning her attention back to Prue while Phoebe took off with Piper's keys to start her jeep.

"I want you to look in the Book of Shadows and see if you can find anything on this guy. He calls himself a Dream Sorcerer." Prue added hastily and then hung up before Piper could protest further.

Piper glared at the phone as if it was its fault Prue had hung up on her. "Phoebe. Attic!" Piper yelled as she took off up the stairs to the attic. "Attic. Book. Dream Sorcerer. Find something. Anything. Now." She directed to herself as she climbed up the stairs. She immediately began flipping through the book as soon as she was in front of it.

"What are we doing up here?" Phoebe demanded several moments after starting up the car.

"Searching for the Dream Sorcerer." Piper mumbled.

"Find anything?" Phoebe wondered, joining Piper next to the book.

"Nothing." Piper answered shortly.

"Nothing?" Phoebe echoed in disbelief.

"That's what I said." Piper repeated, not looking up from the book to glance at Phoebe. "There's gotta be something." Piper countered her own words. Another few moments of frantic flipping passed before Piper slammed it closed. "There's no Dream Sorcerer stuff anywhere." She exclaimed hysterically.

Phoebe grabbed Piper's arms and spun her around to face her. "Breath, Piper!" She ordered. "We're just going to drive and pick Prue up then we can worry about finding this guy. Now where is she?" Phoebe demanded.

"She went to the station to stay with Andy until we pick her up." Piper answered hurriedly. "We should go… now. She was terrified." She babbled, turning a questioning look to her elder sister for instructions.

"Piper, it's going to be okay. She should be with Andy in a couple minutes and he'll make sure she's safe." Phoebe assured again.

Piper shook her head and glared down at the Book of Shadows. "How can there be nothing in there? The Book of Shadows has never let us down before!"

"Maybe he's not a demon." Phoebe suggested thoughtfully. "Maybe he's a mortal." She fell silent as she followed her own thought.

"Then he's got one hell of a power." Piper muttered, beginning to pace around the room (much to Phoebe's displeasure).

Phoebe rolled her eyes and grabbed Piper's arm again. "Stop that. I can't focus." She grumbled.

"Well, demon, mortal. There's gotta be some way to stop him." Piper pointed out, freezing where she stood.

The two Halliwell sisters looked towards the door as the phone began ringing."That has to be Prue." Piper whispered worriedly. After a moment's hesitation she took off to answer it until Phoebe grabbed hold of her, pulling her back.

"Wait! Piper, I'm going to start driving to pick her up. You just keep talking to her. Keep her calm and don't tell her that we don't know how to stop this guy." Phoebe ordered. In response, Piper just waved her hand over her shoulder in acknowledgement and raced down to the phone. Phoebe followed closely behind but she veered off out the front door while Piper ran to the phone next to the kitchen.

Prue's Car/ The Halliwell Manor

Prue hastily dialed the number to the Manor and placed the phone to her ear while keeping one hand on the wheel to her car. "Come on, answer the phone." She pleaded, as she drove her car down the dark road toward the police station.

Piper was just able to grab the phone before the answering machine picked up. "Hello?" She answered, a little breathless from the rush down the stairs.

"Hey, did you, um, find anything?" Prue asked desperately as soon as Piper had answered the phone.

"I'm still looking. It's a big book, sweetheart." Piper lied soothingly. "Just don't worry. You're not in this alone, Phoebe's already on her way to the station to meet you." She added, trying to control her own fear so as not to freak Prue out anymore than she already was.

"How can you help me if we don't even know what he is?" Prue retorted causing Piper to sigh loudly on the other end.

"The most important thing right now is for you to get to the station safely." Piper returned carefully.

"Yeah, okay, um, look. Just keep talking. Don't let me fall asleep." Prue pleaded, taking deep steadying breaths as she fought against her exhaustion and fear.

Piper hesitated answering, trying to think of something to talk about. "How's your photos? Did you get them done?" She questioned, knowing Prue could talk about her photography for ages. She raised her voice louder in the hopes that it would help keep Prue awake.

"I almost finished my photos but I couldn't finish the layout. Piper, I'm gonna get fired…" Prue sighed, obviously distraught.

"Prue, I will personally take it up with your boss. Phoebe and I can be very persuasive. You won't get fired, I promise." Piper assured her. She heard Prue yawn loudly on the other line. "Okay, Prue, blast the air conditioning and roll down the windows." She ordered. "Do you remember the road trip song?"

Prue rolled her eyes at the thought of the obnoxious song that she could only just remember. "Parts of it."

"Well, we're going to sing as much as we can, okay? Don't worry, nothing's going to happen." Piper soothed only to be interrupted by a banging on the front door.

"Phoebe!" A man's voice carried through the front door.

Piper jumped, clutching the phone to her ear. She vaguely recognized the voice. "Hans?" She asked hesitantly. "Phoebe isn't here." Piper continued in a stern voice.

"Let me in! I have to see her!" Hans shouted, banging on the door again.

"She's not here!" Piper yelled again. Her jaw dropped and she jumped back as Hans broke down the door and stormed in. "What the hell are you doing? Get out!"

"Piper? What's going on?" Prue spoke into the phone, worry now in her voice. She could hear the door break and her fear for Piper escalated when no one answered.

"She left me! How could she leave me?" Hans continued to shout.

Piper dropped the phone in panic as he advanced. She raised her hands in a sign of peace as she slowly backed away to the stairs. "Look, Hans, she didn't leave you. We had a family emergency and didn't have time to call you or anything." Piper lied hastily.

Hans ignored her. "She's upstairs, isn't she?" Hans guessed, pushing a side table out of his way. His gaze focused on the stairs instead of Piper. "Ever since I met you I can't do anything. Eat, drink, sleep. All I can do is think about you!" He accused, yelling up the stairs where he assumed Phoebe was.

"Piper?" Prue whimpered again, exhaustion beginning to close her eyes.

The Dream Sorcerer appeared next to her in the passenger's seat as if he had been waiting for Prue to fall asleep again. "The time is now, Prue. We're almost there." The Dream Sorcerer laughed.

There was a honk of a car horn and the bright lights of its head lights that jolted Prue awake again.

"Piper! Where are you?" She screamed fearfully into the phone.

Hans, even more annoyed that Phoebe refused to show, grabbed a vase of flowers and threw it at Piper in his frustration. Piper screamed and threw her hands out and the vase froze in mid-air along with Hans. She stayed where she was in a stunned silence, trying to catch her breath when she remember Prue. "Oh my god, Prue…" She dashed to the phone and scrambled to pick it up while Prue succumbed to the welcoming darkness and her phone slipped from her fingers. "Prue? Prue?"

"Say goodnight, Prue." The Dream Sorcerer whispered in Prue's ear as the car drove straight for a utility pole. The Dream Sorcerer grinned and laughed manically as the car slammed into it.

Piper frantically hung up and redialed Prue's number, desperately waiting to hear her baby sister's voice tell her she was okay. "She's not answering." She sighed in defeat, slamming the phone back down. She picked it back up and dialed for Phoebe, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes as she sank down onto the floor amongst the broken glass and strewn flowers that Hans had knocked over.

"Can't fall asleep…" Prue whispered in her semi-unconscious state. Sounds of an ambulance grew louder as they approached the scene of the crash but Prue was unaware of her surroundings.

San Francisco Police Department

Phoebe bolted into the stationhouse, only stopping when several officers blocked her way. "Are you Prue Halliwell?" One of them asked.

Phoebe hesitated and quickly bit her tongue to stop from snapping something back at them. "No, I'm her sister, Phoebe. I came to pick her up." She explained. Her worry increased as she realized Prue must not be here yet.

"We were told to watch for her but we haven't seen her yet." Another officer admitted.

Phoebe narrowed her eyes. "Told?" She prompted.

"Inspectors Morris and Brason took the rookie with them to interrogate the suspect and they told us to explain that to Prue when she got here." The first one clarified.

"You're sure she didn't come in? Really dark brown hair, blue eyes, twenty years old, probably would have had a camera with her…" Phoebe described. The officers shook their heads, watching Phoebe with a sympathetic expression. Phoebe jumped as her phone started vibrating and she quickly pulled it out, hoping to see Prue's name. The caller id read Piper. "Piper? You're supposed to be on the phone with Prue. Where is she?" Phoebe answered without wasting any time for pleasantries. "Slow down… What about Hans?" She continued only to trail off as an ambulance drove by. Her ears rang at the beginnings of a premonition.

Paramedics pulled Prue out of the wrecked car and placed her on a stretcher. They lifted the stretcher up into the back of the ambulance.

The Dream Sorcerer carried Prue to the edge of a building, preparing to push her off.

"Piper, I'll call you back. Just stay at the house." Phoebe ordered after a split moment of coming out of the sparing a glance to the officers, Phoebe ran back to her car that she turned to follow the ambulance where she knew she would find Prue.

The Bay General Hospital

Prue was hastily pushed down the hallway of the Trauma One section of the hospital by one of the paramedics. The doctor that would be helping Prue ran down the hallway and followed beside the moving stretcher. "Trauma One. What have you got?" The doctor called as she raced down the hallway. The paramedic pushed the clipboard with Prue's information into the doctor's hands.

"A twenty year old female. One-on-one. Car versus utility pole. Bp 80 over 40. Pulse 110. Semi-conscious at the scene." The paramedic listed what she knew as she pushed Prue through several rooms and the doctor flipped through her information.

The doctor dropped the clipboard onto the end of Prue's stretcher and leaned over, shining a light in her eyes. "The pupils are responsive. Miss Halliwell, hang in there." The doctor noted and ran ahead to give orders to some nurses.

"Must stay awake. Must stay awake." Prue whispered as they continued to wheel her around.

"Where's X-Ray? I want a C-Spine now." The doctor ordered as they finally set Prue up in the room the doctor had just entered. The nurses crowded around, some hooking Prue up to machines, while others prepared to lift her onto a hospital bed. "1, 2, 3." The doctor called and Prue was lifted off the stretcher onto the nearby bed.

"Resps are down to thirty five. Pulse-ox is falling." Another doctor observed.

"How can that be? Give me 500 mics of dopamine, and get ready to intubate. Stay with us, Miss. Halliwell… Damn, she's unconscious." The first doctor replied after checking Prue's pupils again.

Prue awoke to find herself once again in the red-tinged building dream world. Prue glanced groggily up at the Dream Sorcerer, still lying on the hospital bed. "How did I get here? I'm not…" She began but her thought was finished by Berman.

"… Asleep? Actually, you're unconscious. You fell asleep at the wheel. Hit a pole. Terrible, terrible thing." He laughed as Prue, beginning to panic, reached beside her to grab a phone. "Speaking of pain, you really hurt me last night." The Dream Sorcerer commented, glancing at his glove covered hand that she had stabbed. "And not just my feelings."

"Suffer." Prue snapped, beginning to dial a number on the phone for her sisters. Berman laughed at her and snatched the phone from her hands and tossed it away.

"We're definitely out of range." He explained before reaching over to grab a glass of wine from the side table. "Would you like a little wine with your death?" Berman mocked her, handing the glass to her.

Prue flashed him a glare and knocked the glass out of his hand, sending it crashing to the ground where it shattered. "I'm under-age, idiot." She returned harshly. In anger, Berman rolled her bed closer to the edge of the building, making her scream.

The Dream Lab

"Mr. Berman insists that he's not to be disturbed during his experiments." The technician replied to Andy and Darryl's demand to speak with him again. Inspector Brason was gathering information on Berman's research project at the desk in front.

"I don't care. We want to talk to him. Just wake him up." Andy snapped, pacing back and forth outside the room Mr. Berman was asleep in.

The technician looked over at the sleeping form of his boss. "It's not going to be easy. He's heavily sedated." He warned the two cops nervously.

Andy's eyes narrowed in impatience. Berman could be attacking his next chosen victim, which quite possibly could be his Prue, this very second and this guy was offering excuses. Darryl sent him a warning glance before turning an equally impatient glare to the technician. "Just get in there and wake him up." Darryl ordered. The technician moved away to wake up Berman while Andy stared through the glass walls with impatience. "Calm down, Trudeau." Darryl warned.

"I will when he's awake or I'm on the phone with Prue and she's clearly not being attacked." Andy retorted, pausing a moment to lean closer to the glass wall. As if on cue, Andy's phone began to vibrate. "Trudeau." He answered.

"Andy? It's Phoebe. Prue was in a car accident. She's in trauma one…" Andy didn't hear anymore. He hung up the phone and began banging on the glass for the technicians to hurry up. There was a very good chance that Prue was being victimized as long as Berman was asleep.

The Bay General Hospital

Prue glanced down and rubbed her hand over the nice evening dress that she was now suddenly wearing.

"Do you like the dress?" Berman asked, his eyes flickering over her body.

"I've worn better." Prue replied harshly and defiantly to this guy that was practically holding her prisoner.

The Dream Sorcerer raised his eyebrows at her continuing defiance, appearing impressed. "Hmm… yeah." He acknowledged before leaning forward and picking her up off the bed despite her weak struggling against him.

~PO4~

Piper raced through the hallways of the hospital searching for Phoebe. She nearly ran into Phoebe at the reception desk who was waiting for her to arrive. Unfortunately, there was no one at the desk to ask about Prue.

"Phoebe!" Piper called in surprise. "What happened? Is she okay?" She demanded.

"I saw the ambulances pass by the station and had a premonition. The Dream Sorcerer is going to try and hurt her again." Phoebe summarized.

"That's all very handy but what about Prue?" Piper repeated.

"They won't tell me anything, but I do know she went into Trauma One. " Phoebe vented before pointing behind her sister at the restricted entrance to the Trauma One section. Finally, a receptionist returned to the desk. He had not been there a split moment before Phoebe jumped down his throat.

"Prue Halliwell? Is she okay?" Phoebe demanded while Piper stabbed her demanding sister in the ribs with her elbow.

"You called us a little while ago about our sister, Prue Halliwell." Piper repeated more politely to the receptionist who began to look through the files.

"Your sister is still in Trauma One. If you go down to the waiting room a doctor will be with you in a moment." The receptionist answered, pointing in the opposite direction as the Trauma One section.

"Thank you." Piper acknowledged, grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her in the direction he pointed in. Phoebe dragged reluctantly behind. Piper glanced over as the receptionist disappeared into the file room and immediately changed directions to enter the Trauma One section.

Phoebe smirked at the sudden change in direction. "Pretty sneaky, Sis." She commended.

"Prue needs us now." Piper replied shortly. "Is anyone watching?" Phoebe gave a slight shake of her head and Piper pushed into the restricted section and led the way with her sister right behind her.

The Dream Lab

"Mr. Berman! Mr. Berman, wake up!" Andy shouted through the glass and banged on the wall trying to get Mr. Berman's attention. He was a little surprised that Darryl actually let him take this into his own hands, but he seemed to understand exactly what Andy did; they needed to wake Berman up immediately. "I don't care what it takes, you wake him up. Now!" Andy ordered the technicians crowding around. He hit the glass again. "Mr. Berman, wake up!"

The Bay General Hospital

"Wake up, Berman!" Andy's voice drifted into Prue's dream prison that Berman stubbornly ignored, determined to have as much fun as he could. He ran his hands over Prue's body, pleased that she was now too weak to struggle against him.

"Andy…" Prue whispered desperately.

~PO4~

Her sisters had now reached her side and were crowded around her.

"We're here, Prue. Right beside you." Piper breathed to her baby sister, praying she could hear them.

"Can you hear us?" Phoebe whispered, stroking her sister's raven-dark hair. "Come on, Prue. Fight this guy, honey." She encouraged.

~PO4~

"Prue?" Piper's voice drifted in.

"Phoebe, Piper?" Prue called weakly.

"Prue?" This time it was Phoebe's voice.

"They can't help you. You're mine now." Berman laughed, lifting Prue up and slowly carrying her towards the edge of the building.

~PO4~

Phoebe glanced at Piper who appeared on the verge of tears again. "What do we do?" Piper asked softly.

Phoebe didn't say anything for a moment as she grasped onto her baby sister's hand. "Prue, wake up. Fight him and come back to us." She challenged, stroking Prue's hair with her other hand.

"Use your power, Prue." Piper breathed, taking Prue's other hand.

"Don't leave us." Phoebe whispered with another glance up at Piper.

~PO4~

"Use your power." "You can do it." Her sisters' voices called to her. Pleaded with her. Ordered her to fight.

"Where are you?" Prue asked. She needed them here, where their voices were more than just drifts.

"You're powerless." The Dream Sorcerer told her, drowning out her sisters' voices and sending Prue farther into hopelessness.

"Wake up, Berman." "Use your power against him, Prue." "You can do it." "Wake up!" The voices were overwhelming. Andy's, Phoebe's, Piper's. They all drifted in but had been overwhelmed by the Dream Sorcerer's. But they were still there and so were her sisters and her boyfriend. Prue suddenly pushed away from Berman. He was so surprised by her sudden burst of energy that he let her go. Prue, however, dropped to the roof where she crawled backwards away from him.

Berman looked furious as he advanced on Prue again. "You can't fight me." He yelled at her, not understanding how she found any strength to get away from him. None of the others had.

Prue panicked and squinted at him. Berman tripped by her telekinesis and he landed face first in front of Prue. He grabbed hold of her ankle as she tried to back farther away. "Let go of me." She screamed only to find herself being dragged back to him.

"Wake up!" Andy's voice sounded, louder this time.

Berman had hold of her again but it was obviously taking more effort to control her and block out the cop's incessant voice. "Andy, help me…" Prue pleaded.

"Wake up, Berman!"

The Dream Lab

Berman shot awake with a look of fury on his face. He yanked the wires that were connected to him out and threw them to the side. "I'm going to kill her!" He promised, forgetting in his anger that he had an audience. Berman glared at his main technician, who shrank away from his anger. "I had her!" Berman suddenly found himself being pulled away from the technicians and pressed against the glass as Darryl forced his arms behind his back and clasped the handcuffs in place. From this angle he could see Andy on the other side of the glass while another officer was passing by to get inside. He shot a look of utmost loathing in Andy's direction.

"Whitaker Berman, you are under arrest for the murder of Skye Russel, Julie Derickson, and two other women…" Darryl began. Inspector Brason took over by stating the Miranda rights as he pushed Berman out to the car. Darryl didn't spare the technicians a glance but walked to where Andy was waiting. "Good work, Trudeau." He offered, clapping the younger man on the shoulder.

Andy just nodded absently, his eyes still trailing after Berman. "I'm gonna go see Prue." He stated.

"I'll give you a ride. Maybe on the way you can explain to me what it is about her and attracting creeps…" Darryl joked to which Andy smiled faintly.

"She does have a kind of habit for it, doesn't she?" Andy realized, running a hand through his hair.

The Bay General Hospital

Prue jerked slightly as she shot awake after Berman's hold on her was broken. "Phoebe? Piper?" Prue asked, attempting to move just enough so she could see her sisters.

"Don't move." Phoebe ordered softly. "We're right here." She added, squeezing Prue's hand for emphasis.

"Are you okay?" Piper questioned.

A hint of a smile crossed Prue's features. "Yeah, I'm okay…" She assured them but her smile faded a little. "Andy stopped him. Can you ask him to make sure that guy's really gone?"

"Sure thing. I'll go do that right now." Phoebe offered. By this time, doctors were pouring in and had noticed the two women that weren't supposed to be in the room. "We'll see you in a minute." She promised as she and Piper were ushered out.

~PO4~

Late afternoon the next day, Prue had been moved to a regular room and was finally allowed to have visitors. Obviously the restrictions against visitors hadn't stopped her sisters so nothing much changed except they weren't shooed out every ten minutes. Prue was sitting up in her bed reading a magazine when Piper and Phoebe crashed a trolley of flowers into the edge of the door. One of the vases fell over and Phoebe made a desperate grab for it, almost letting it drop in her laughter.

"Knock, knock." Phoebe called cheerfully, standing the vase back up.

Prue grinned and slammed her magazine shut, willing her sisters closer since everyone got mad at her if she tried to get up. "Please tell me you guys are here to pick me up." Prue pleaded as the other two Halliwell sisters began spreading the flowers out around the room in decoration.

"No, Dr. Black said, one more day. Just to be sure." Piper reminded her, coming to sit at the foot of Prue's bed.

"Yeah, and you know, it wouldn't kill you to get some rest." Phoebe pointed out and then realized what she had said. "You know with all that studying and magazine work." She clarified, trying to skate around reminded Prue of the Dream Sorcerer.

Piper quickly jumped to help cover Phoebe's slip. "By the way, we talked to your teacher about rescheduling that test and Phoebe told off Hannah for thrusting all that work onto you. She even took it up with Rex who gave his sincerest apologies and promised that he would make sure the situation didn't happen again." Piper added.

Phoebe nodded, appearing quite proud of herself. "So you obviously didn't lose your job and I was hired for the advice columnist this morning." She announced.

"You'll do great." Prue replied in certainty. "Thanks for the flowers!" Prue gratified with a smile around the room at all the flowers.

Phoebe smiled and sat down on Prue's right side of the bed "Yeah." Piper laughed, causing Prue to narrow her eyes and the other Phoebe to giggle.

"What is it?" Prue whined, acutely aware that she was missing something.

Phoebe laughed a little more before explaining. "Well, lot's of guys sent us flowers because of the spell, but we reversed it last night before our house overflow with them. We brought some here obviously, some we donated to other random rooms in here, and some are still littering our house."

Prue nodded in understanding. "What about the guys?" She asked curiously.

"Piper called Jack…" Phoebe began and Prue's attention shifted to Piper.

"The guy you had dinner with…?" Prue wondered.

Piper gave a slight nod. "… And he didn't remember anything. So Phoebe called Hans." Piper responded pleasantly, the attention then shifting to Phoebe.

"And he didn't remember anything." Phoebe finished.

"So, don't worry. Everything is back to normal." Piper added cheerfully and Prue nodded, happy with the results.

"Afternoon, Ladies. Surprise!" Andy interrupted the conversation dramatically, carrying a rose and a bag of take-away food, much better than hospital food.

The three sisters looked up, smiling in surprise. "Hey, Andy." Prue greeted with a slight wave.

Phoebe raised her eyebrows at Andy curiously. "What was the verdict?" She questioned as Andy walked forward to stand next to Prue.

"He won't be getting out." Andy assured her. He glanced a little nervously at Phoebe before Piper grabbed hold of Phoebe's arm.

"Come on, Phoebe. Let's go." Piper suggested.

"Okay. Bye, Prue, Andy." Phoebe called following Piper as she realized they could use the alone time.

"We'll see you later tonight." Piper promised, turning back a moment.

Phoebe attempted to linger behind to watch Andy and Prue. "Be nice with my sister." She added before Piper grabbed her hands and pulled her along.

Andy waved to the sisters, sat down next to Prue's bed, and gave her the take-away bag. "I brought your favorite." He told her while she opened it and looked in.

"Ooh… cheeseburgers and fries." She stated longingly.

"I'm glad to see every bone in your body's not broken." Andy commented lightly with a laugh.

Prue glanced up at him curious at his choice of words. Phoebe hadn't told her how much he knew about everything. Just that Andy's mentor had put the guy in jail after they IDed him from the sketch Phoebe had given them. "What?" She asked, attempting to find out.

"The car accident. Never mind." Andy backtracked, giving Prue the rose and kissing her gently on the cheek. Phoebe and Piper, who had lingered despite Piper trying to leave, smiled and giggled at the Prue-Andy scene before they finally turned and left.