A/N: I know I completely got rid of the whole story with the customer who was going to get hit by a car but it wouldn't have fit in with the story with Rose.

Chapter Ten: Dead Man Dating, Part 2

"Who are you? Why are you pretending not to remember seeing me on the bus?" Phoebe asked; determined to get answers.

"I swear, I have no idea what you're talking about," Rose lied. "I promise,"

Phoebe sighed. "What's your name?" she asked eventually. Rose looked uncertainly at her. She knew she definitely wasn't going to tell Phoebe her real name, but should she make one up or point blank refuse to tell her? "Tell me. I won't hurt you, or anything, I just want to know,"

"I know you won't hurt me," Rose mumbled. "You seem nice," she added quickly; remembering that Phoebe had no idea that Rose knew who she was.

"Just tell me your name, okay?" Phoebe begged. "And where's your mom? Does she know you're at this hotel?"

"My mom knows exactly where I am, and she doesn't mind," Rose lied. "My name is Nina," she continued. Phoebe narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She didn't believe her at all.

"Yeah," she scoffed. "And my name's Naomi," Rose just looked up at her and didn't speak. Phoebe sighed. "I'm Phoebe and I have to get back to work so you can leave now. I'll let the bus thing drop because you obviously aren't going to tell me the truth about anything," Rose nodded but sat on the chair by the wall as Phoebe worked. She wanted to keep an eye on her. She had sensed that Mark was still with Piper, which meant that she probably believed him, or was at least willing to help him, so Rose figured she could stay here with Phoebe to make sure she was okay.

After about 45 minutes, the manager of the hotel came over to her. "Move kid. Scram. You're scaring away business," he ordered.

"I'm just sitting here," Rose argued. "I'm not doing anything wrong,"

"Get lost. This is my hotel and I don't see you paying for any rooms," the manager snapped. Phoebe noticed that he was giving Rose a hard time so stood up and walked over.

"She's with me," she tried.

"She still has to leave," the manager insisted. Rose sighed and muttered fine. She didn't want to go. What she actually wanted to do was punch him in the face because he was being rude to her, but Rose decided that it would be more trouble than it was worth. "Off you go, kid,"

Phoebe sighed. "Come on. Let's go back to my house," she suggests.

"Erm… why?" Rose asked. She didn't mind. Obviously. But she still had to pretend that she had no idea who Phoebe was.

"Because I need to help my sister help your friend,"

"He's not my friend," Rose muttered. But let Phoebe lead her outside and to Prue's car, where they drove back to the Manor. When they arrived, Phoebe called out that she was home, and Piper appeared in the doorway with Mark.

"Urgh, Pheebs, why did you bring the kid home?" Piper complained.

"She's the one that said Mark needed help, so I figured she might wanna help out," Phoebe explained.

Piper looked between Rose, Phoebe and Mark. "I'm Nina," Rose smiled, holding her hand out for Piper to shake. Piper stared at it in disbelief and Rose slowly put it back down next to her side. "Do you believe Mark needs your help now?" she asked. Piper sighed in annoyance and stormed upstairs. Phoebe quickly followed.

Mark shrugged at Rose, who smiled slightly. Then they both went upstairs as well. Prue was leaving the bathroom in only a towel as Mark appeared. "Hello? I'm practically naked here!" Prue exclaimed. Mark put his arms up in defence and backed away slightly and through the wall. As he did, Rose came up the stairs. Prue spotted her. "Why the hell is there a child in the Manor?"

"I'm Nina," Rose lied for the third time that day. Prue rolled her eyes and glared at her sisters.

"Don't look at me," Piper said. "It was Phoebe,"

"But you were the one that bought the ghost home," Prue pointed out.

"Mark's a ghost?" Phoebe gasped. Piper nodded. "Cool. I've never met a ghost. Good or bad?"

"Good. I assume. He's our innocent," Prue replied.

"Actually, he's my innocent," Rose insisted. The three Halliwell's turned to her in surprise. They had sort of forgotten she was there. "But Piper stole him and Phoebe took me hostage,"

"How do you know my name?" Piper asked suspiciously.

"I… I heard Phoebe say it downstairs," Rose lied quickly. She kicked herself internally. That had been a close call. She really needed to be more careful, otherwise she'd blow her cover. Phoebe was already suspicious enough of her as it was. She still wouldn't drop the fact that she saw her on that bus, and no matter how many times she denied it, Rose knew that Phoebe wouldn't believe her.

"Right. Well, I'm gonna get dressed, and then we can all think of a way to help Casper the friendly ghost," Prue said.

October 23rd 1998

It had been a good (but unproductive) few hours since Rose's arrival at the Manor, and while Prue and Piper grew suspicious of her, and who she really was, Phoebe wasn't. Well, she already had been suspicious about Rose, since she was sure she was lying about the bus, but figured she was definitely good because Mark seemed to trust her. But Rose had to go, because the Source was summoning her.

"I have to go back home," Rose told the three Halliwells and Mark, who were all in the attic together. Prue looked up at her with a questioning expression. "It's almost 2 AM, my mom will be really worried about me,"

"Oh my God, yeah – you're, what, like fourteen?" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Eleven," Rose corrected. She looked surprised. "What?"

"You're just very smart for an eleven year old," Piper piped up. "And pretty sure of yourself as well,"

"Are you sure you're eleven?" Prue asked suspiciously. She didn't trust Rose. She didn't trust her at all. Rose nodded though, and stood up. She was aware that Prue didn't trust her, which meant that it would be very difficult for her to help them all with vanquishing demons, especially since Prue was the eldest, and wanted to protect her sisters.

"Yes," Rose insisted. "And now I have to go. I'll be back in the morning though,"

"Well, do you want my number? So you can call and ask where we are?" Phoebe offered. Prue and Piper both glared at their sister. "What?" Phoebe shrugged.

"No, it's alright. I'll be able to sense Mark," Rose replied. That was true. But she would probably also be able to sense the Charmed Ones. "Thanks for helping me with this, guys," she added. And then she went to leave the attic. As soon as she was halfway down the stairs, Rose shimmered to the Underworld.

…

"Rose, there you are," The Source started slowly. Rose nodded. "How are you liking Earth?"

"It's great – except for the mortals," Rose replied; feigning a shudder of disgust. She hated lying so much – she realised she was practically lying to everyone she met these days – but it was a necessary part of her survival. If anyone she was lying to found out the whole truth… well… she would most likely be dead before Christmas.

The Source chuckled. "I like you, Rose," he said. He was sort of lying. He liked her drive for whatever it was she was doing, but didn't trust her very much. He was almost certain that she was working for good, not evil. And that she hadn't actually vanquished her father. "What are you doing up there? Made anyone suspicious yet?" The Source asked.

"Spying on the witches," Rose replied. "They have a demon to fight already – some sort of evil spirit which is trying to steal their innocent,"

"Ahh, good. This is good news. Hecate isn't quite ready yet. But when she is… The Charmed Ones are in for a treat," The Source replied. "No. I'm very glad about that… very glad indeed,"

"So… this Hecate demon… is she powerful?" Rose asked casually; trying to get a better idea of what The Charmed Ones could be up against in the future.

"Very. Very powerful indeed," The Source informed her proudly.

"Do you think she could destroy The Charmed Ones?" Rose asked. The Source smiled. He had this half-witch right where he wanted her.

"Only if they find out about her," he started. "Hecate is very specific in her needs... she knows what she wants, and killing those witches isn't on her list of priorities. No, what she wants is to create evil offspring… but she's willing to stop anyone or any witch who gets in her way. This is where you come in," The Source explained.

"Me?" Rose asked warily.

"You want to kill The Charmed Ones yourself, yes?" The Source asked. Rose nodded. "Well then, get them to find out about Hecate, and you can assist Hecate in their vanquish,"

Rose looked at The Source. Did she want to do that? She knew she had to if she wanted to avoid being murdered by him, but if she told The Charmed Ones – or made them find out – about Hecate, then she risked them being killed. If Hecate was as powerful as The Source was making out, how did Rose know they would be able to vanquish her? "Okay," she decided. She would just have to help them.

"Excellent," The Source smirked. If Rose led The Charmed Ones to Hecate, and she was good, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from helping with the vanquish of his demon. Not that they would be successful. No.

He would order Hecate to kill The Charmed Ones but spare Rose so he could kill her himself. Torture her himself. It was the perfect plan.

"You may go back up there now," The Source replied. "I'll let you know when Hecate is ready,"

…

Piper and Mark were walking down an alley, when Rose ran in front of them. Piper only just kept in her scream, while Mark looked on in confusion. "Where did you come from?" he asked her.

Rose shrugged, but before she had to make something up again, a spirit on a dark horse appeared in front of them. "What the heck is that?" Piper exclaimed.

"Yama," Mark replied solemnly. "He's come to take my spirit away. He takes the spirits of lost souls, ones who haven't been buried in time," he explained to Piper and Rose who were looking at the spirit in wariness. Rose didn't like the sound of this spirit – she didn't know what it was exactly, but it definitely didn't seem like it would take Mark into a future that the Elders wanted it to.

So she stepped in front of Mark. "What are you doing?!" Piper yelled; pulling Rose back by her shoulder. Yama's horse moved closer to them and Piper held her hands out in surprise. He froze.

"What happened?" Mark asked.

"I'm a good witch, remember?" Piper replied. Rose smiled. She had that power too. Because she was a good witch.

"How long does it last?" Mark asked cautiously.

"Not very, let's go," Piper said. Mark started to run off, and so did Piper, but Rose stayed still. She wanted it to unfreeze so she could try out her power as well. "What are you waiting for?" Piper exclaimed, rushing back and grabbing Rose's hand and pulling her after her.

"Hey!" Rose said in annoyance.

The three of them ran to safety. "What the hell were you playing at? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Piper snapped at Rose.

"Sorry! I was thinking," Rose replied.

"When there's a demon coming to take your soul, thinking is not the right thing to do," Piper argued. "If I hadn't realised you weren't with us, you would be dead right now," And if I hadn't distracted the shapeshifters, or found the vanquishing spell for them, or Javna, you would all be dead right now. Piper sighed when Rose didn't respond. "Let's just get back to the Manor," she suggested.

October 24th 1998

Rose was on the top of The Golden Gate Bridge. She was sitting on the edge; swinging her legs carelessly back and forth, and waiting for Leo. He had called her up here about thirty minutes ago and still hadn't come to meet her. She wasn't particularly annoyed though, because it was a nice-ish day for the middle of October, and she knew Mark was still in good hands.

"Rose, hi. Sorry I'm late. I got caught up with a charge," Leo said from behind her.

"It's fine. It's not like I have anything better to do," Rose snapped. She hadn't realised, but she was kind of annoyed at him for keeping her waiting. Ever since Piper had yelled at her, Rose had been in a bad mood. Who was Piper to tell her off? She was the one that had been saving their asses since they became witches.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to bite my head off," Leo sighed.

"You knew that Mark would die," Rose muttered. Leo sat next to her. "And you knew I was going to try and find Phoebe. And tell her everything,"

"Are you still going to do that?" Leo asked. Rose shrugged and stared at the cars on the bridge.

"Do you think they can see us up here?" she asked.

"Who? The people in the cars?" Leo replied. Rose nodded. "Unlikely. Most people don't look up when they're driving. And mortals are quite unobservant. If they saw us sitting up here, they'd probably think they were imagining it,"

"Why did you call me up here, Leo?" she asked.

"The Elders want to know how you're getting on with Mark," he replied. Rose nodded but didn't say anything. "Rose…"

"Fine, Leo. I'm getting on fine,"

"Which is why you've been hanging out up here," Leo said.

"You were the one that called me," Rose argued. "Mark is fine. Prue, Piper and Phoebe are helping him out too, and making sure nothing happens to him,"

"Actually Rose, I think Piper might be in danger," Leo replied.

"What?" Rose exclaimed. "So why are you talking to me?" Before Leo could assure her that, at the moment, she was okay, Rose shuffled off the edge of the bridge and shimmered before she fell too far.

…

Rose appeared in the attic of the Manor. No one was there. She could sense that all three Halliwells and Mark were downstairs, so she rushed down to see if they were okay. Prue saw her first, and glared suspiciously at her. "How the hell did you get into our house?" she asked.

"I just… I was…" Rose stumbled. Piper, Prue and Phoebe were all staring expectantly at her for an answer. The front door was open, and all of a sudden two men rushed in and grabbed Piper, who was closest to it.

She screamed in surprise, and they left; slamming the door behind them. "Piper! Oh my God!" Phoebe yelled. "What the hell just happened?"

"You!" Prue accused; pointing a finger at Rose. "You knew that was going to happen, and distracted us so we wouldn't be able to help our sister,"

"What? No. I didn't, I swear," Rose tried.

But Prue didn't believe her. "Pheebs, do something with her," she instructed. Rose shook her head. "Phoebe…" Prue warned after she didn't move.

"I can help you find Piper," Rose begged.

Prue and Phoebe looked suspiciously at her. "Prue, if she can help…" Phoebe said softly. Prue held her finger up to hush her sister.

"Fine," Prue decided. "Where is she?"

"A warehouse on sixth," Rose said confidently. "That's where they'll take her, anyway," Prue narrowed her eyebrows but nodded slowly and walked over to Rose. She grabbed her wrist and pinned it behind her back. "Hey! Don't touch me,"

"Your hands are staying right where I can see them. I don't trust this, but we haven't got any other options," Prue decided. She took Rose's other wrist and pinned it behind her as well. "Phoebe, don't take your eyes off her," Rose looked up at Prue angrily and tried to shrug her off. "Stay still,"

"You're not my mom," Rose snapped.

"No. Well, she's not here, so I'll have to do," Prue snapped back. "Come on. Hurry up so we can save Piper," Prue started to walk with Rose in front of her and they got to her car. Mark sat in the passenger seat, while Phoebe and Rose sat next to each other in the back.

"You should count yourself lucky that she didn't tie you up," Phoebe smiled at Rose; who still looked angry.

"She's insane," she muttered.

"Maybe. But all she wants to do is save Piper," Phoebe replied. They got to the warehouse.

"Stay in the car," Prue ordered to Rose. And then her, Phoebe and Mark went into it. Rose waited about ten seconds, and then sped after them. She heard a shout, and opened the door, and then a shot. Without thinking, Rose flicked her wrists and the bullet, about an inch away from Prue's face, was frozen, including the three guys that had taken Piper.

"Piper, how did you do that without your hands?" Phoebe asked breathlessly. Prue was still staring at the bullet; and hadn't moved a muscle.

Piper shook her head in awe; she was the only one who had seen Rose do that. "I would move out of the way if I were you. It doesn't last that long," Rose said from behind them. Prue and Phoebe spun around in surprise. Rose was standing there with her hands still in the same position.

"I thought I told you to stay in the car?" Prue snapped.

"Prue," Phoebe said. "She saved your life. If she hadn't come up here… that bullet would be in your head,"

Prue thought about that for a second, and then nodded. "Phoebe, untie Piper," she instructed. Police sirens could be heard as Piper was untied, and Rose stood in the same place. "You should get back home. I don't know how pleased your mom would be if she found out you were here," Prue said to Rose.

Rose nodded uncertainly. "You did good, Nina," Phoebe smiled. Rose smiled back half-heartedly at her fake name, but was glad Phoebe was pleased with her. "Maybe we'll see you around?" she asked.

"Maybe," Rose agreed. And then she turned on her heel, left the room, and shimmered out.

October 26th 1998

Prue, Piper and Phoebe were at Mark's funeral. He had just walked into the afterlife with his father, and they were looking on at the scene. "That girl, Nina, she keeps showing up. And she could see Mark. Do you think she's a witch as well?" Phoebe asked her sisters.

Piper shrugged. She was upset about Mark. She had ended up falling for him. A dead guy. How inconvenient.

But Prue had a lot to say about the subject. "I don't trust her. I would bet my life on the fact that her name isn't Nina. We should keep an eye on her…" she replied. Phoebe and Piper glanced at each other.

"You know she saved your life, right?" Phoebe said.

"I could have handled it," Prue assured them confidently. "I had the situation completely under control. I didn't need a kid saving my life," she added to try and prove her point. Piper and Phoebe smiled. Prue was so stubborn.

October 28th 1998

Leo and Rose were on The Golden Gate Bridge again. "Am I getting another charge?" she asked him; wondering what was so urgent. "Because I don't really want one. I like helping The Charmed Ones,"

"The Elders have decided that your charge is a young witch named Aviva. She's sixteen, and is now living with her aunt, who doesn't really understand magic," Leo explained. Rose sighed and leant against the metal of the bridge. "Don't sigh, Rose. You should be pleased,"

"Why would I be pleased? I hate being a Whitelighter and I don't want to be one to a teenager," Rose snapped.

"It's not really your choice, Rose," Leo replied. "And I thought you were happy about becoming a Whitelighter and getting charges? It's a big responsibility, Rose, but The Elders trust you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Not like this. I wanted them to trust me with looking out for The Charmed Ones,"

"But they're not your charges," Leo pointed out.

"Well they should be! I'm a much better Whitelighter for them than you! At least they've met me," Rose argued.

Leo sighed. "Rose, The Elders have their reasons for not making you their Whitelighter,"

"What?" Rose asked angrily. Leo didn't reply. He wasn't allowed to tell her the reason, although he wished he could. "Leo, come on, you can't expect me to just accept the fact that I can't help them without giving me a reason,"

"I'm sorry, Rose, but I'm not allowed to tell you," Leo said softly.

"Urgh," Rose sighed in annoyed tone. "This is so pointless! I'm a crappy Whitelighter anyway – I wouldn't have been able to save Mark without Prue, Piper and Phoebe's help,"

"But you saved Prue's life," Leo smiled.

"That's my point, Leo!" Rose huffed grumpily. "I'm a good Whitelighter for them. Because I can help them save innocents and vanquish demons,"

"The Elders have forbidden that, Rose. You know that. Just accept it," Leo sighed.

"It's so unfair. Who put them in charge, anyway?" she argued. Leo smiled at her sympathetically, but didn't answer. He understood that she was annoyed, but couldn't do anything about it. Maybe it was a good thing that Rose didn't find out the reason she couldn't be The Charmed Ones' Whitelighter? "Leo!" Rose huffed.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I am. But I'll see you in a few days for your Whitelighter training, and then Aviva will become your charge," Leo replied.

"Is she destined to die as well?" Rose snapped; knowing she had lost the argument.

"No," Leo sighed. "She isn't. I'll see you on Wednesday,"