A/N: So here's the thing…I know I said I wasn't even sure if I wanted to post this story past episode 1 but I was so damn inspired by all the wonderful feedback you guys gave me that I sat down at my laptop and wrote out the second episode.
Then I logged in a few hours ago and saw that we have officially reached 100 reviews for the first episode. That is INCREDIBLE. Thank you so much to all who took the time to review - you're AMAZING. I feel like I'm on a high right now.
I thought I'd repay the favor by posting the second episode since I know that I might not be consistent with replying to all reviewers. I'm sorry about that, by the way. I'll be online in the next few hours so feel free to ask me anything you'd like and I'll reply ASAP. I also do my best to reply to ALL reviewers in the future.
Some of you have asked me this: will I be writing out all episodes. Well, I'm not so sure. There are a few episodes that I can't fit Bella in at all, especially ones which are Victor-heavy. Like the third episode, for example. I know it's when Leo was first introduced but he barely had a few lines so I don't think it's all that crucial. I just can't fit a suitable storyline for Bella without making it seem like it's a separate one from the other three. She has a few awesome sarcastic comments but I'll just put them in a different episode. So, to answer the question - no. Not all episodes will be re-written for the 'Charmed: Redux' universe.
It has also been brought to my attention that, since there are FOUR Charmed Ones, it'd be befitting that the symbol for them would have FOUR interlocking arcs as opposed to THREE like in the show. This would be known as the Celtic Quaternary Knot. Some say the quaternary knot is a sign of protection, some say each arc in the knot represents the four elements, some say it's for good luck like the four-leaf clover…There are quite a few meanings for the symbol. I liked the meanings, but I'm only halfway convinced to chance it from a Triquetra to a Quaternary. I could explain away the three arcs if I kept the original Tributary (and why there isn't a fourth arc to represent the fourth sister) but it might be a shaky theory. I'd really appreciate any opinion from you. Thank you.
All six parts are ready to be posted so I thought I'd start with part 1 of episode 2. Please, read and enjoy and leave a line or two to tell me what you thought of it when you're done.
Thank you once again.
Disclaimer: Twilight and Charmed do not belong to me.
Phoebe made her way through the crowd in Quake, looking left and right for Bella.
Her youngest sister had given her a call and practically demanded her to come by the restaurant, claiming that their second oldest sister Piper was too busy rushing in and out of the kitchen and around the restaurant to spend any time with her.
Phoebe had been reluctant – until Bella had promised 'serious eye candy'.
"Oops, sorry," she said as she bumped accidentally into someone, smiling apologetically. She still couldn't find Bella when she ran into a harried looking Piper, who was carrying a bill and seemed to have been rushing around before Phoebe came, if her slightly haggard appearance was anything to go by.
"I'm gonna kill him," Piper said frantically.
Phoebe frowned at her confusedly. "Who?"
"Chef Moore," Piper clarified hurriedly, spinning on her heel to head to the bar. Phoebe had to almost jog to keep up with her. "He, of the phony accent, hires me and then quits to open his new place. Thank you very much."
Phoebe laughed lightly. "I don't see any customers complaining," she pointed out. They reached the bar where Bella was sitting, flirting openly with a besotted-looking bartender. There was a shot glass filled with vodka in front of her. "Hey," Phoebe greeted Bella with a kiss to the cheek.
Bella smiled at her, waving at the bartender as he left the three sisters alone. "Hey," she grinned back at her.
Piper frowned at her. "Is that alcohol?" she nodded at the vodka.
Bella swiped the shot glass off the counter top and downed it in one go. "Not anymore," she sang out to Piper. When her older sister continued to frown, she said, "Piper, lighten up."
"You know that could've cost the restaurant it's license?" she hissed. "You're underage."
Bella rolled her eyes. "And no one's the wiser as long as you don't yell it out again," she said meaningfully, throwing in a pointed stare for good measure. "Stop worrying so much, babe, you'll get wrinkles."
Turning away from a still-panicked Piper, Bella addressed Phoebe. "Isn't Javier cute?" she asked, nodding at the Hispanic bartender who had just walked away from them.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Javier?" she repeated. "Wow, you bounced back from Carter fast."
Bella grinned impishly. "Carter who?" she teased. At Phoebe's laugh and shake of the head, Bella chuckled. "I'm too young to mourn and be depressed and all that crap. Let's leave that to the fifty year old divorcees. Carter and I had a good run, now he might possibly be a warlock so I've moved on."
Phoebe rolled her eyes at Bella's cavalier attitude.
Piper waved her hands in front of her sisters' faces. "Hello, can we get back to me, please?" she said in a rush. "I am not a restaurateur. I'm a chef. I have no idea what I am doing…" Squinting at the familiar dress Phoebe had on, she asked, completely out of left field, "Are you wearing my dress?"
Phoebe was saved from answering when they were interrupted by a friend of Piper and Phoebe's, Britney Reynolds. "Hey, Britney," Phoebe grinned at her.
Britney greeted the three of them with a smile, handing Piper the money for her bill. Piper took it from her, smiling forcedly due to being so tired, and went to get her the right change.
Bella, noticing the flash of ink, gasped and took hold of Britney's right hand. "Ooh, I love that tattoo," she gushed, speaking of the inked angel on the back of Britney's hand.
"Thanks," Britney grinned.
"I thought it was illegal to get them on your hand because of the veins?" Phoebe asked, curious.
"In the States, yeah," Britney nodded. "I got it done in Tahiti."
Bella grinned. "Sneaky," she approved.
Britney laughed, amused. Piper came back to the bar, Britney's change in hand but Britney shook her head. "Keep the change, Piper. I gotta jam," she said.
"Okay. Say 'hi' to Max," Piper bid goodbye.
"Bye," Britney waved to the three sisters before leaving.
Piper sighed. Turning to a waitress who was approaching the bar, she handed the bill presenter with Britney's payment to her, saying, "Table nine, please."
Bella nudged Phoebe. "Hot guy, three o'clock," she whispered to Phoebe out of the corner of her mouth.
Phoebe snuck a look at him and immediately zoned out of Piper's panic moments, a sudden vision hitting her fast and hard. She watched as 'future hot guy' came up to her in her mind's eye, his courage gathered, approached her, introduced himself and asked if he could buy her a drink.
She let out a small gasp as she was pulled out of the vision, then smiled slyly. Well, this might turn out to be a good night after all, she grinned to herself.
The first thing Phoebe saw after her vision faded was Bella's grinning, knowing expression directed at her.
Piper turned back to Phoebe just as she returned to reality. Not noticing anything amiss, she said, "Now, back to my dress…"
"Did you…?" Bella asked Phoebe, her question trailing off before she could finish asking. She didn't need to form the right words, however, because Phoebe seemed to know exactly what she meant.
Phoebe nodded, her excited smile mirroring Bella's. "Yep," she replied instantly.
Piper stared at the two of them suspiciously. "What the hell are the two of you talking about?" she asked warily.
Phoebe and Bella shared a look before Phoebe leaned towards Piper. "Okay," she said quietly. "See that poster boy to your left?" Piper turned her head to look at him. "Just glance, don't be obvious," Phoebe warned quickly.
Piper did as instructed, hurriedly giving the man a onceover before facing Phoebe and Bella once more. "I approve," she said. "Who is he?"
"His name is Alec and he's about to come over and ask if he could buy me a martini," Phoebe said, a hint of smug giddiness in her voice.
Piper gaped at her. "How do you know?"
Bella smirked and threw an arm around Phoebe's neck. "Let's just say that Phoebe here has solved the age old problem of who approaches who first," she sighed contentedly. "I envy you," she told Phoebe. "Not by much, but it's still there."
Phoebe laughed.
Piper shook her head. "What?"
"I had a little premonition," Phoebe clarified.
Piper's eyes widened. "What?" she sounded outraged and petrified all at the same time. "Phoebe, you are not supposed to use your powers. We agreed," she reminded her younger sister.
"No, you and Prue agreed," Phoebe corrected her. "I abstained. Bella's the one who's been actively trying to use her powers on a daily basis."
When Piper turned to give Bella a look of disbelief, Bella glared at Phoebe. "Gee, thanks for ratting me out, sis," she said sarcastically. "Next time I won't be so nice and steal your boy toys away from you instead."
Piper leaned across the bar to whisper harshly to Bella, "Prue is going to kill you when she finds out, Bella."
Bella sighed. "Look, it's not like I've been having much luck with that, anyway," she shrugged. "I just wanted to be sure, you know? Your powers aren't as obvious as mine. So you freeze a room – no one will notice. And unless there's a mind reader around somewhere, I'm pretty sure no one will know Phoebe's getting a vision. But me? I can't control my power and it's coming to me in short bursts out of nowhere. I almost knocked down my school gym's basketball hoop on Wednesday. I just don't want to risk losing control and speeding around school or something."
"That's the whole point," Piper insisted. "None of us can control our powers. That's what scares me. I could panic and freeze the entire restaurant."
Bella nodded. "Then don't you think it's best if we learn to control our powers?" she pointed out. "That way, we won't have magical mishaps like that and expose ourselves."
Piper was starting to shake her head, fuelling Bella's irritation at her two eldest sisters' denial when it came to their magical ancestry.
Phoebe, her attention divided between her sisters' conversation and the cute guy Alec, suddenly shushed Piper and Bella. "Shh, here he comes," she whispered quickly to Piper and Bella.
Piper and Bella watched as Alec slipped from his seat and approached the three sisters, his eyes flickering between Bella and Phoebe.
Bella caught the interested gleam in his eyes as he took in her beauty and deliberately schooled her features into an aloof expression, exuding indifference as she glanced his way briefly then looked away. Though Alec was cute, the last thing Bella wanted was to argue with one of her sisters about a guy.
Noting her silent rejection of his perusal, Alec focused all of his attention on Phoebe who – thankfully – hadn't seemed to notice the exchange between her soon-to-be date and her youngest sister.
"Hi," Alec said as he approached the bar.
Phoebe, pretending she hadn't noticed or knew of his approach, turned her head in his direction. "Oh, hello," she smiled, her tone pleasantly surprised even if she was anything but.
Alec smiled at Phoebe. "I was just…Sitting over there wondering if I could buy you a martini or something," he told her, almost sheepishly.
"Martini, hmm, imagine that," Bella said slyly, giving Piper an impish grin just to tick her off further.
Phoebe ignored both Bella and a scowling Piper, smiling flirtatiously at Alec. "I would love one," she assured him. "It's Alec, right?" she couldn't help her own reference to her psychic vision earlier.
Alec seemed pleasantly surprised. "Yeah, how'd you know my name?" he asked curiously.
"Wild guess," Phoebe shrugged. "Do you wanna grab a table?"
"Yeah," Alec grinned, and Phoebe hopped down from her bar stool.
Piper, leaning close to Phoebe, whispered, "Prue is gonna be pissed."
Bella sighed, annoyed, and told Piper, "Seriously, I wasn't kidding about the wrinkles." Turning to Phoebe, she leaned in even closer and whispered in Phoebe's ear, "Forget about Prue and sleaze it up with Alec – I'm getting a sex vibe between the two of you."
Phoebe laughed, swatting Bella on the arm playfully before taking Alec's arm and walking off together with him towards an empty table.
Bella sighed contentedly as she watched them leave. Catching the unsettled look on Piper's face, she reached out and patted Piper's hand. "Piper, stop worrying, okay?" she said.
Piper rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know, the wrinkles," she said dryly, waving off Bella's words.
"Phoebe will be fine," Bella insisted, ignoring Piper's words. "It was a harmless vision she couldn't have helped, and all that came out of it was a date. Now, stop obsessing about our powers so you can go back to panicking about the restaurant."
Piper glared at her.
Their little sisterly bonding was interrupted by Javier the cute bartender. Still dressed in his uniform, he had his jacket slung over one arm. "Uh, Bella?" he said nervously.
Bella spun around in her seat to face him. "Oh, hey, Javi," she grinned a wide, megawatt smile at him, which only served to make him even more nervous. Resting her elbows on the counter top on either side of her, she asked casually, "What's up?"
"Well, I just finished my shift and I thought maybe…You'd wanna go out with me for dinner?" he asked hopefully.
Bella pretended to consider his offer. "Hmm…I don't know," she teased. "This is sort of short notice…"
Javier, encouraged by her teasing tone, laughed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Well, I promise to make it worth your while," he tempted.
Bella grinned. "I'm gonna hold you to that," she warned.
"And I'm gonna deliver," he promised.
Hopping off her stool, Bella turned and gave Piper a quick goodbye. "Don't stress yourself out too much," she advised. "See you at home. Bye."
Piper shook her head, a small smile forming on her lips as she watched her youngest sister walk away arm in arm with Javier. "Have fun," she called out.
Bella turned her head back and winked at Piper, mouthing the words, "I will," before turning back to face the front, her attention back on her impromptu date.
Halfway across town, finishing up on her own first date with Andy, Prue snuck out of his bed just as the sun began to rise. I can't believe we did that, she hissed in her mind, slipping on an oversized t-shirt of his she grabbed from the back of a chair. It's like I was possessed by both Phoebe and Bella and forgot all sense of who I was last night…
She quietly tiptoed around his room, grabbing her clothes, shoes and bag scattered all over his floor. Andy groaned slightly as he shifted in his sleep. Prue halted in her steps, glancing fearfully at his sleeping form. When he remained asleep, she let out a relieved breath. Biting her lip, Prue made to tiptoe towards the door, when his alarm clock beeped loudly.
She turned her head towards the offending object so quickly that she almost gave herself whiplash. Squinting her eyes at the alarm clock, she conjured up the memory of using her power last – when she had closed the door to the manor after that whole Jeremy fiasco – and focused that same energy towards the clock.
She breathed out in relief as the alarm clock flew from the bedside table and flew out the open window. Her relief didn't last long as she could see Andy already starting to rouse from his slumber and, not wanting to talk to him at the moment, she hurried towards the door for a quick escape.
She winced as she heard Andy's voice calling out her name as she closed the door to his apartment. She rushed towards the elevator, deciding to dress inside the metal lift to lower the risk of Andy coming out of his apartment and catching her.
I sound so juvenile, Prue sighed to herself. God, I hope no one finds out about this.
She managed to get home before any of her sisters were awake. She snuck upstairs to her room, took a long shower and dressed for her interview later on at Buckland's Auction House.
By the time she got back downstairs, the house was buzzing alive. She could hear Phoebe singing loudly in the bathroom, passed by Bella's open bedroom door where her younger sister was busy blow-drying her hair and entered the kitchen to find Piper whisking eggs in a bowl as she watched some sort of documentary on witches on the small kitchen TV.
"Morning," Prue said to Piper.
"Morning," Piper replied distractedly.
"What are you watching?" Prue asked as she headed for the fridge and pulled out the jug of OJ.
Piper blinked, as though just realizing Prue was in the room. "Nothing," she said, quickly turning off the TV. "Just a show."
"About witches?" Prue smirked slightly as she poured herself a glass of OJ. "Are you worried we're gonna be burned at the stake?"
"Yeah, right," Piper scoffed unconvincingly.
"Who's getting burned at the stake?" Bella asked as she bounced into the room.
Prue stifled her amused smile as Piper glared embarrassedly at the both of them. "No one," Piper bit out. Changing the topic fast, she told Prue, "By the way, Andy called."
That was enough to diminish Prue's amusement. "When?" she asked, practically slamming the jug of OJ on the counter top.
"While you were in the shower," Piper replied.
"What did you tell him?" Prue demanded.
Piper frowned. "That you were in the shower," she answered dryly. Eyeing Prue's clearly ruffled feathers, Piper quirked an eyebrow, a gentle, knowing smile curved on her lips. "Bad date?"
Prue closed her eyes briefly. "No. No, no. Not at all. It was great," she said in the most cheerful voice she could muster. "You know…Dinner, movie…"
A tug in her heart, and a deeper tug in the pit of Bella's stomach, made her freeze. One hand still clutching the low-fat muffin she'd swiped off the kitchen island, she stared at Prue, eyes narrowed.
"No, wait…" she murmured, her eyes raking over Prue's face, taking in every detail.
Moving her gaze from Prue's glowing skin towards the rest of her, Bella took in Prue's confident but definitely defensive posture. Something in her heart was telling Bella that her eldest sister hadn't just gone on a regular date the night before. It was screaming at her so clearly, the afterglow almost literally glowing pink around Prue in Bella's eyes. She wondered why Piper didn't see it, too.
"That's not all that happened," Bella murmured, confident in her assessment even if she didn't know why she'd suspected it in the first place.
Bella reveled in the slight panic flaring in Prue's eyes and the discomfort clearly written all over her face. Let's see how Miss I-do-everything-by-the-book explains her way out of this, she thought smugly.
"What do you mean?" Piper asked confusedly, looking between Prue and Bella suspiciously the same way she had the night before between Bella and Phoebe after the latter's premonition at the restaurant.
Bella shrugged. "I don't know how or why but I can feel it…Sense it…" Smirking knowingly at Prue, she tattled, "You had sex!"
Prue threw Bella a shocked glare. "Bella!" she gasped, outraged.
Bella laughed, waving Prue's anger away with her hand dismissively. "Oh, it's totally true," she scoffed. "Don't even try and deny it."
Piper started to smile at the banter. "You had sex on the first date? You sleaze," she teased Prue, joining in on Bella's laughter.
Prue winced, biting her lip. As though trying to convince herself instead of her sisters, she started to explain her actions in an almost desperate manner. "It wasn't exactly our first date, Piper," she reminded both of her sisters with a meaningful look.
Piper shook her head. "High school doesn't count. That was last decade. Spill it," she demanded.
Prue gave Piper and Bella reproving glares, grabbed her mug and stalked out of the kitchen.
Piper and Bella shared a look then trailed after Prue as the eldest sister walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Ooh, that bad, huh?" Piper winced sympathetically, taking Prue's glare the wrong way.
Another tug deep within Bella's womb told her the truth. "No, actually, that good," she corrected Piper. When Prue threw her a confused scowl over her shoulder, Bella shrugged, wide-eyed. "Hey, I don't know what's going on with me, either," she defended herself.
"So…?" Piper prompted Prue. "If it was that good, then why the long face?" she asked. Narrowing her eyes, she questioned, "Unless Bella's wrong…?"
Bella scoffed, scowling. "As if," she crossed her arms across her chest.
"It was…" Prue shook her head, fighting back a smile at the memories of last night. "Well, we were amazing."
"Uh – duh," Bella rolled her eyes. "You're sporting a glow so bright I'm surprised China hasn't called wondering why it's sunny at midnight."
"But that's not the point," Prue continued hurriedly, giving Bella a dirty look as the three of them walked. "I told myself that things would be different. That we would…Take it slow. It just shouldn't have happened, that's all."
"What shouldn't have happened?" Phoebe asked as she bounded down the stairs and walked up to her three sisters.
Prue wanted to remain silent – too many people already knew about her indiscretion with Andy the night before. She didn't need Phoebe to know, as well.
Unfortunately for Prue, Piper didn't share her view. Turning to Phoebe, Piper blurted out nonchalantly, "Prue slept with Andy."
"Hello," Phoebe said, surprised.
Prue glared at Piper. "Thanks a lot, mouth," she bit out.
Phoebe gaped at Prue. "Wait – you were gonna tell them but not me? Family meeting," she said, slightly insulted. "You always said that Bella's too young to even know about these things and now you're confiding in her?"
"Hey, I resent that," Bella huffed. "It's not like I had a choice on when I was born. Why am I getting punished for it?"
"Prue didn't tell us," Piper informed Phoebe. "Bella 'sensed' it."
Phoebe frowned, her eyebrows furrowing together confusedly. "What? How?" she asked, her attention focused on her youngest sister.
Bella shrugged. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. "All I know was that I saw her, she looked like she was glowing, there was a tingle in my mind and I immediately knew that she got some lovin' last night – and this morning," she smirked, wagging her eyebrow at Prue ridiculously.
"God!" Prue complained loudly, scowling. "Bella! Stop that!"
Bella held up her hands, palms facing Prue. "Not my fault, Prue," she defended herself. "My senses are-"
"Tingling, yeah, I got it," Prue interrupted dryly.
Bella pursed her lips, thinking. An idea forming in her mind, Bella's eyes lit up as she wondered aloud, "Hey, maybe I'm turning into a succubus."
Phoebe stifled an amused smile. "I'm pretty sure that's a kind of demon, Bella," she said gently.
Bella's smile vanished. "Oh," she said flatly. "That makes it less cool."
Phoebe snorted, shaking her head. "So, come on," she said, turning back to Prue. "Dish on last night."
"I will not," Prue said easily. "Speaking of last night…What time did you end up rolling in?"
Phoebe shook her head. "No, no, no. Don't change the subject," she objected.
"Don't dodge the question," Prue shot back.
Piper, grinning, nudged Phoebe gently. "It must've been at least after three," she teased her sister.
The four of them walked into the sunny solarium and Prue immediately took her seat at the table, ready to start her morning with her OJ and reading the paper before heading out for her interview.
"I must still be in New York time," Phoebe said airily.
Prue gave her a look as she fumbled through the papers. "Actually, that would make it later," she corrected Phoebe.
"Can I just point out that I was back by midnight?" Bella piped up. "I would've been later but I had a curfew to keep."
Prue looked at her incredulously. "Bella, your curfew's at ten thirty," she pointed out.
Bella waved her hand, "Details, details…My point is, whatever time Phoebe came home at, I was home earlier."
Prue sighed. "And why are you making this point?" she asked warily.
Bella blinked at her. "I thought it was obvious? That was my subtle way of asking for a raise in curfew," she clarified.
"No."
Bella glowered at Prue. "Won't you at least consider it?"
Prue pursed her lips, nodding her head. "Considered…And denied," she smiled at Bella's irritation.
"So what did you and Alec get up to last night?" Piper asked Phoebe, curious.
Bella quirked an eyebrow. "Barring the obvious?" she smirked.
Prue interrupted, "Who's Alec?"
"Some hottie she hit on in the restaurant," Piper replied.
Phoebe held up a hand. "Excuse me, where vision is history, he hit on me. Remember the whole vision thing?" she reminded Piper.
Prue's smile at watching her sisters banter instantly started to droop. "Vision thing?" she repeated slowly. "Please tell me you didn't use your powers."
Phoebe's silence spoke volumes, and so did the slightly guilty look she and Bella shared. Prue turned her stoic face Piper's way, silently demanding an explanation.
Piper shook her head. "Don't put me in the middle of the two of you," she argued.
"I'm not. You were born in the middle," Prue quipped. "Look, I thought that we agreed," Prue reminded Phoebe.
"No, we didn't," Bella immediately protested. "You and Piper did but Phoebe and I didn't. In fact, I remember me disagreeing…Loudly."
Phoebe nodded. "Bella's right," she said. "You agreed. You laid down the law. There's a difference."
For some reason, Prue's annoyance made Phoebe angry and sad all at the same time. She was frustrated that Prue could turn an almost lighthearted moment between them all and turn it into a serious, 'you-did-something-wrong-again-Phoebe' moment.
"Phoebe," Prue exhaled exasperatedly. "Our powers aren't toys. We have to be careful or they can get us killed."
"She's right," Piper nodded seriously. "We don't want any warlocks finding us."
Bella frowned at Piper. "I thought you didn't want to be in the middle?" she reminded Piper, who scowled back at her.
Phoebe, ignoring Piper and Bella, defended herself to Prue, "Look, it was just a lousy premonition, that's all. Nobody died. Besides, you guys can't control your powers better than I can."
When it was clear Prue's scowl wasn't about to lessen, Phoebe decided it was best to get the heat partially off of her. Sorry, Bella, but there's only so much disapproval a sister can take, Phoebe apologized silently. "At least I'm not using my powers on a daily basis on purpose," she tattled.
As Phoebe predicted, Prue's icy glare was now turned to Bella. "Bella!" Prue scolded.
Instead of trying to deny it, Bella went on the defensive, "Okay, you know what? My power kicks your power in the ass." Crossing her arms, she explained herself in an almost huffy manner, "I just want to be sure that if I need it in case a warlock baddie comes bursting in, I'm prepared. Excuse me for not wanting to die before it's okay for me to drink in public without getting arrested or something."
Prue blinked at her. "You drink!"
Piper gawked at Prue. "Really?" she asked incredulously. "That's all you got from that? What about Bella confessing that she's been trying to use her powers daily?"
Prue sighed, running a hand though her short, dark hair. "Look, everyone here needs to come to an agreement," she said firmly. "Using our powers right now is just not an option. We need to be discreet and careful, guys – and using visions to flirt with guys is not being careful. Neither is going on dates with guys you barely know. If Jeremy, someone we thought we knew for six months, could betray us so easily, it would be a hundred times easier for a stranger."
Bella shook her head. "No, I didn't sense Alec being evil," she assured Prue. "And neither was Javier."
"First of all, we can't go by your gut instincts, Bella, no matter how strong you think they are," Prue shot down. Her eyebrows rose to her hairline as she asked, "And secondly - Javier?"
"My date for last night," Bella clarified. "He's a bartender at Quake."
Prue mentally palmed her face in exasperation. I can't believe this, she grumbled. I wasn't there for one night and Piper and Phoebe let our fifteen year old sister disappear with some older guy she barely knows.
Noting Prue's displeased expression, Phoebe added, "And FYI…Nothing happened last night. At least, nothing I'm ashamed of."
Prue shook her head slightly as though to dismiss Phoebe's words, and changed the subject quickly. "There's another reason we have to be careful," she warned her sisters. "Andy thinks someone's abducting women in our area."
Bella perked up at the mention of a baddie – supernatural or no, her drive to fight had only increased in the last week. She felt like a starved maniac looking for a little action. "Abducting women? What do you mean?" she asked curiously.
"I mean warlocks aren't the only evil we have to watch out for," she explained. Leveling Phoebe with a confident stare, Prue threw back her earlier words at her almost verbatim, "And FYI…I'm not ashamed of anything."
Bella threw Prue a proud grin. "You go, Prue! Embrace your inner slut!" she cheered. Receiving a rolled up newspaper to the head, she nodded, "That's fair."