A/N: This is the first chapter that there will be for Dead Man Dating but it doesn't have much of the canon because I don't particularly like the episode.

But to make it more enjoyable, a certain half-demon is mentioned in this episode…and Rose finally starts to take her Whitelighter responsibilities seriously. She also starts getting to talk to the Charmed Ones and work together with them. I decided to write the dates of the different days to show time passing. Also, I don't know if the episode would actually start on October 21st but that's my dad's birthday so I chose it. Enjoy!


Chapter Nine: Dead Man Dating, Part 1

October 21st 1998

Rose was at Golden Gate Park, sitting on the swing set and watching all the perfect families have picnics and play with each other whilst wondering about the fact that she now had nowhere to live. All of a sudden, she felt the Source summoning her so started walking towards a large group of trees so she could shimmer away unnoticed. She did so and appeared in front of the Source.

She didn't really want to be there but she didn't have a choice because the Source had become suspicious of her when he found out that his three shapeshifting demons were now vanquished and she was still alive. Rose didn't exactly know why – she had already made it clear that she wasn't going to help them in any way. Of course, it was because she was good but she had told the Source that it was because she wanted to kill The Charmed Ones herself. Rose figured that if he thought that, the Source wouldn't find it suspicious when Prue, Piper and Phoebe successfully vanquished the shapeshifters.

Obviously she had been wrong.

"So, you're telling me that there was nothing you could do about saving them? I find that very hard to believe. You are an extremely powerful being," the Source informed Rose.

"It's not that there was nothing I could do, it's that they didn't tell me that they were going to try and kill them. I would have helped them if they'd asked," Rose insisted. She hated being called a 'being'. She was, but it was strange. She was human, not some animal.

"They shouldn't have had to ask, you knew they weren't ready to try and you chose to be oblivious because you wanted to kill the witches yourself," he replied. He was getting very fed up with the half-witch and wanted to kill her. But he knew that he couldn't because she was useful.

And besides, the Source didn't believe that Rose had really vanquished her father and thought that she was covering either for him or herself. He felt that if her father was alive and somewhere, he was waiting to do something to him and then become the Source himself.

"Well, next time you ask me to live with demons who are too stupid to look after themselves, I'll intervene and help them kill the Charmed Ones, okay?" Rose snapped. She instantly regretted it, knowing that the Source had a temper and did not like to be yelled at.

But surprisingly, all he did was smile. "Rose, Rose, you misunderstand me. I am glad that you acted the way you did because it proves to me that you are a true demon," he told her. He was lying, obviously, but she seemed to believe it.

"It does?" she asked, relieved.

"Of course. Only a true demon would allow their fellow demons to be killed in order to gain respect from me," he replied.

Definitely not what she had been expecting… but at least the Source had started to like her again now. At least, that's what she thought and exactly what he wanted her to believe. Rose didn't think that what he had said applied to her though – she wasn't any kind of demon, especially not a true demon. But she didn't question him, in fear of him getting angry again.

"Now all we need to do is decide where you are going to live now that those shapeshifting imbeciles are gone," the Source continued.

"I want to stay on Earth," Rose informed him. She had to stay close to the Charmed Ones now that the Source would probably be sending more demons after them.

"I agree that this is the best option. And I think that Belthazor would be a wonderful candidate for your 'father'. Or maybe those idiotic demons that I instructed to befriend the eldest," he said, more to himself than to Rose.

But she didn't want to live with any more demons, she had had enough of their violence and unnecessary killing of innocents.

"Can't I just stay by myself?" she asked him. The Source looked outraged that she had even suggested it.

"That is much too suspicious. What do you think those humans will say when they realise you are an eleven year old living alone? I know that you can look after yourself Rose but I don't want any mortals getting suspicious," he exclaimed. Before Rose could say anything, he continued talking. "Nope, Belthazor is definitely the best option for this. I have great plans for him regarding the youngest Charmed Ones and her stupid human emotions,"

"No way. I'm not getting involved in that. I'll just hang out on Earth, I don't really need anywhere to live and I'll make sure that I don't get seen. Besides, if a mortal sees me, I can always sort them out," Rose replied. Obviously she wanted the Source to think that she meant she would kill anyone that got suspicious but what she actually meant was that she'd just get Leo to use some of that memory dust stuff on them.

"I guess I can allow that. As long as you promise that you come down here often and tell me everything. And seeing as you'll already be risking your exposure, I suppose I can allow you to spy on the witches from within," the Source decided.

"Okay, that's a deal," Rose said, hiding her relief. She quickly shimmered out of the Underworld before the Source could change and couldn't get the smile off her face.

Once Rose actually got up to Earth, the realisation that she was alone finally hit her. Tears formed in her eyes but she blinked them away, determined to be glad that she was still able to assist The Charmed Ones. She heard someone call her name and realised it was coming from her head. Before she could think about who it could have been, she was engulfed by blue and white orbs and reappeared in front of three Elders.

"Hello, Rose," they greeted.

"Um, hi. Not to be rude or anything, but why am I here? Don't you hate me?" she asked them.

"Of course we don't Rose, you have been very helpful in keeping the Charmed Ones alive while they learn how to control their powers," one of the Elders said to Rose.

"Okay, thanks, I guess," Rose replied awkwardly. She didn't really understand why the Elders had bought her up here.

"We should be thanking you. And we are. By giving you a charge," a different Elder told her.

"What?" Rose asked them, shocked. A charge? But only really amazing Whitelighters got charges. She didn't even know how to use her Whitelighter powers.

"We've seen the great things you are capable of doing and wish for you to put those demonic powers you insist on using to use. We have discussed and decided that as long as you use them for good, your demonic powers can stay and you can use them. Leo isn't able to teach you how to use your Whitelighter powers yet so they'll be useful to you," the third Elder explained.

Rose was so over the moon. The Elders trusted her! And were allowing her to use her demonic powers for good. She couldn't believe it. "So who's my charge?" Rose asked excitedly. "Are they some uber powerful witch who needs a Whitelighter? Or a scientific genius who's going to be a Whitelighter when they die?" she continued.

"His name his Mark Chao, and he's in danger. He does not know of his future and you must guide him there," the second Elder said.

Rose didn't reply straight away, she just stood in front of the Elders and thought about how crazy this was. She was eleven years old – she couldn't guide someone to their future – she herself didn't even have a future.

"Rose, we understand that you're probably feeling overwhelmed by this responsibility but we have faith in you and we know you can lead this man to where he needs to be," the first Elder said.

"Well, where is that?" Rose questioned. They could at least give her some kind of heads up about what she needed to do.

"We can't tell you that Rose, you and Mark both need to find out for yourselves," the last Elder said.

"But how am I meant to guide a man through his life? Won't that look a bit strange?" Rose asked.

"You will understand everything when you meet him Rose. He is a good man. And you a smart child, you'll know what to do. Now, go," the first Elder replied. And waved his hand. She was once again engulfed in orbs and disappeared from in front of them.

"She will manage this, won't she?" the second Elder asked the other two.

"Of course," one replied.

"She will manage just fine," the other added.

October 22nd 1998

It was the next day and Rose didn't really know what to do with herself. She had asked Leo what she was supposed to do now she had a charge after she got back down to Earth but all he had said was to wait until her charge called her. What Rose didn't understand was how a man who didn't know she existed would be able to call her when she was needed. But nevertheless, she followed Leo's instructions which was why she was now waking up inside a bookshop.

Because Rose had no house to live in now, she had made her way into a bookstore and busied herself with reading a collection of different books whilst invisible. When the store had closed, she reappeared again and had curled up on one of the reading chairs inside.

Rose hated that she didn't have anywhere to live but her love for books meant that a bookstore was the best place for her to go. She had only learnt to read properly a couple of years ago, when Belthazor had realised she couldn't do it well and now she loved it. But there was a limit to how long you could stay cooped up in a shop so after the store opened, she left and shimmered up to the Golden Gate Bridge again.

All of a sudden, she heard a loud jingling inside her head and knew that this was her charge. And that he was in danger. She turned invisible and quickly shimmered to where she could sense him. But mid-shimmer, she felt an agonising pain in her abdomen and realised that she had been too slow. She appeared just as a group of men were running off and could see a man's body engulfed in flames.

Rose was suddenly consumed with guilt and a sense of failure. The Elders had trusted her to guide this man to where he needed to be and she hadn't even been able to look after him for 24 hours. She didn't know what to do. Did the Elders already know that she had failed? Or did she have to go and tell them herself? She didn't think she could face them after they had told her how much they trusted her.

Not knowing what else to do, she called Leo's name. He appeared immediately in front of her and knew exactly what had happened. "Rose," he started calmly. "Are you okay?"

"Okay? Am I okay? Of course I'm not okay Leo, the Elders trusted me and I couldn't even look after someone for a day!" Rose exclaimed, panic evident in her voice.

"Rose, calm down. Everything will be fine. You've just got to relax," he said.

"How can I relax? Nothing is fine anymore Leo. Everything is going wrong," she said frantically.

"Just follow your instincts Rose," Leo replied.

"What are you talking about Leo? I'm having a crisis here and you're telling me to follow my instincts," she asked.

"I'm sorry, I can't say anything more. The Elders –" Leo started but Rose interrupted him.

"Let me guess, the Elders forbade you?" she retorted. Leo looked at her with sympathy and thought about how crazy it was that he had sympathy for her. He had never thought that he would have sympathy for a demon.

"Rose, I'm sorry. I wish I could say something to help, but I can't. You just have to follow your instincts and decide what you should do," he repeated sadly. The he orbed off before Rose could ask him anything else.

Rose closed her eyes and an image of Phoebe in a strange costume appeared in her mind. She opened her eyes and suddenly knew what she was going to do. She was going to tell Phoebe everything. And she didn't care what the Elders did as a punishment. She smiled softly and began to sense where Phoebe was. She shimmered away from her charge's burning body and reappeared a couple of blocks away from the hotel she had sensed Phoebe at.

Rose knew that what she was doing would probably not the best idea and would most likely get her into a lot of trouble with the Elders and with the Source but she was beyond caring. She rushed towards the hotel entrance and almost ran straight into someone.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"You can see me?" the man gasped.

"What? Of course I –" Rose started to reply. But then she took a better look at the person talking and realised who it was… her charge. "Are you Mark Chao?" she asked him.

"You know who I am?" Mark asked back.

"Oh, yeah. I do, I was, like, meant to help you or… something," Rose replied slowly. She didn't think Mark would appreciate her failure at helping him, especially since he was dead now.

"Look, I need your help," he told her.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I. Wait. He knew. He knew and didn't tell me," Rose realised. Leo had been told by the Elders that Mark would be a ghost that would need help. He was meant to die. And Rose was going to save him after death, not prevent it from happening to him.

"I don't really know what you're talking about. But you're the first person who has seen me. I was going to try and find Phoebe Halliwell, she's a psychic at this hotel but obviously you can see me too," Mark told her.

Rose was confused. Leo had told Rose to follow her instincts but there was no way that he would have known that Rose would seek out Phoebe. Or was there?

"I think Phoebe Halliwell would be able to help you more than me," Rose informed Mark. "Let's go and find her," she finished.

Mark nodded in agreement and followed her into the hotel.

~~PO3~~

"Piper, you don't understand. I needed to get this job so I could get Prue a birthday present," Phoebe insisted.

"But couldn't you have gotten a normal job? You know, one that doesn't expose that you're a witch," Piper argued. She was frantically trying to persuade Phoebe to stop telling people their future.

"People here don't think I'm a witch, Piper. They think I'm a psychic. The Amazing Phoebe! I kinda like that name, it's catchy…" Phoebe answered.

"Phoebe!" Piper snapped.

Meanwhile, Mark had stopped who he guessed was Phoebe Halliwell and was on his way to her. "Wait," Rose tried to say but Mark wasn't listening. Rose realised that what she had been planning on doing was stupid – she couldn't tell Phoebe what she was – she couldn't tell anyone. But now it seemed to be too late…

Mark was right up close to them now and Rose quickly caught up with him.

"Excuse me," he started, trying to be polite.

"Can't you see we're arguing here?" Piper asked him without looking.

"But I –" Mark tried again.

"Shh," Piper snapped. "Phoebe, you're coming home with now. And get that ridiculous outfit off," she continued.

"Wait," Phoebe said, noticing Rose behind Mark. "Aren't you that girl that was on the bus with me?" she asked her.

Act dumb. Act dumb. Act dumb. Rose thought to herself. "Bus? What bus? I didn't go on any bus," Rose said, not subtly at all. Phoebe didn't answer and instead looked at her suspiciously.

"What are you doing here?" Phoebe asked her after a couple of seconds.

"It doesn't matter why she's here. What matters is that you help me. Please, I need your help," Mark begged Phoebe and Piper.

"Are you drunk?" Piper asked him. She was fed up with lunatics and just wanted Phoebe to stop exposing magic.

"What? No, I'm not drunk. I'm in danger, I need your help," Mark repeated. Rose looked at him with sympathy, neither of the Charmed Ones were even noticing him.

"Can you believe this guy? We're trying to have an argument and he's just interrupting us," Piper said to onlooker. The person looked on in surprise – they couldn't see any guy because they were a mortal and mortals couldn't see ghosts.

"No, you were definitely on the bus with me. You were the girl who told me I should be grateful about having somewhere to live," Phoebe insisted.

"No, I'm pretty sure I would remember that," Rose assured her. This was not going well.

""I know it was you. Why are you lying?" Phoebe replied.

"Phoebe, what are you doing?" Piper snapped again, she couldn't really deal with this right now.

"I'm not lying! But, hey look, this guy needs your help. Why don't you help him?" Rose said, trying to get rid of the attention and help her charge.

"Some guys killed me for my identity, okay? And I really need you to find my body so I can be buried. Otherwise bad things will happen to me. Very bad," Mark told Piper and Phoebe.

"Dude, seriously. Can you stop? Phoebe, come on. We're leaving," Piper replied.

"He's telling the truth. You have to help him," Rose insisted. This wasn't going at all to plan.

"Who are you? And how do you know this creep?" Phoebe asked Rose.

"He's not a –" Rose started.

"I cannot deal with this right now," Piper sighed heavily.

"Piper, it's okay. You go and I'll deal with the girl," Phoebe told her.

"I don't need to be dealt with. But Mark needs your help," Rose said desperately. Piper walked off and Mark started to walk after her, he was desperate for her help. "Mark, wait!" Rose said exasperated. She started to follow them but Phoebe took her arm.

"No, you're not leaving," she told her.

"Wh – isn't that illegal?" Rose asked, confused. Why was everything going wrong?

"It's not," Phoebe lied. She didn't care. There was something suspicious about this girl and she was determined to find out what it was.


A/N: I made a little reference to a particular season 5 episode. 10 points if you remember what it was. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review.