Reflections Part One

Summer had finally faded into fall and both Piper and Prue were off at school. The move in process had been fairly quick for the Halliwells. Piper had met her roommate, a girl named Jill and they seemed to hit it off. Presently, Phoebe was waiting for the mail to arrive. She hadn't heard from Cole in a few weeks and she was beginning to worry. When she heard the mailbox open, she sprinted for the door and flung it open.

"Thanks," she called to the mail carrier as she brought the mail inside. She rifled quickly but did not find a note. She sighed, tossing the mail on the kitchen table and trudged upstairs. The house was so quiet and empty without her sisters. Deep down, a small part of her was mad that Victor let them move out. But she knew eventually they would all move out and start their own lives.

"Being the youngest sucks," she grumbled to herself, lying down on her bed.

She knew she should do her homework but she wasn't in the mood. She really wanted to spend time with her sisters. She wasn't used to being alone. It was not a feeling she liked very much.

After a little more moping she wandered downstairs in search of her father. She found Victor sitting in the conservatory, flipping channels. She sat down next to him.

"Hi sweetheart," he said. She gave him a small smile but didn't say anything.

"What's bothering you?" he asked when she stayed silent.

"It just seems so empty now that Piper moved out. It's just you and me…" she trailed off.

"It's a big change for all of us. It's just going to take some time," Victor said, fixing her with a sympathetic look. She just shrugged.

"I can't help but think that something big is going to happen…like a demon attack. We're separated and not at full strength," she sighed. Victor shut the TV off and looked at her.

"Is that a premonition talking?" he asked.

"No…more like intuition. I haven't had a premonition in a while. It makes me think we have to be really careful," Phoebe answered.

"Have you told your sisters what you feel?" he asked and she shook her head in the negative.

"I didn't want to distract Piper from the wedding and settling in to school. And Prue and Andy are busy with classes…" she rambled.

"Why don't you call your sisters, go have dinner and talk. Spend some time together," he suggested. She gave him a grateful smile and headed for the kitchen. She dialed Prue's number first. Someone picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?" Andy said from the other end.

"Hey Andy…is Prue there?" Phoebe replied.

"Uh…she's in the shower right now. Do you want me to give her a message or just tell her you called," he answered.

"Uh…well do you know if she has plans for dinner?" Phoebe muttered.

"I don't think she did. I'll tell her to give you call about dinner when she gets out," he said and they hung up.

"Dad, do you remember Piper's number at school?" Phoebe yelled.

"Check the fridge," he answered. She ran her finger down the phone list until she found the number on the very bottom of the paper. She dialed the number and waited. It rang three times and she was about to hang up on the fourth ring when someone finally picked up.

"Hello?" an unfamiliar voice said.

"Uh…is Piper there?" Phoebe asked.

"Who is this?" the other person asked.

"Her sister, Phoebe," Phoebe answered. There was a brief pause of silence and some rustling.

"Pheebs?" Piper said.

"Hey…are you doing anything for dinner?" Phoebe asked, grateful to hear her sister's voice.

"I was going to eat with Jill, my roommate but I could probably postpone it. I don't recommend the campus food. We could go out somewhere. Is Prue coming?" Piper rambled.

"She was in the shower when I called. But she should be calling back. Andy didn't think she had any plans," Phoebe replied.

"Ok…well I can stop by the Manor and then we can pick up Prue," Piper said.

"Ok. I'll see you around five," Phoebe said and hung up, a huge smile on her lips. She felt better already. She didn't have to wait long for Prue's return call. They arranged to pick her up a little after five. Just as she was hanging up for the last time, Victor walked in.

"Things sound good," he said, having heard the excitement in his youngest daughter's voice.

"Yeah…I just hope the dinner conversation doesn't ruin it," she mumbled.

"I don't think it will honey. They know their duty to magic just like you do," he reminded her.

"Don't remind me. Sometimes I wish we weren't Charmed…that we were just normal witches, without all this stupid destiny crap following us around," she grumbled. Victor just laughed a little. They went their separate ways for a few hours. Phoebe had grown so bored that she had called for Leo just to have someone else to talk to. He appeared in her bedroom.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No…does there have to be something wrong to summon you?" she retorted.

"Usually," he answered.

"Well I'm just bored and needed someone to talk to," she stated. He nodded and sat down next to her.

"We're doing dinner tonight, just us three," she said after a moment.

"Good. You need that," he agreed.

"How are you and Piper doing…her being in the dorm and everything?" Phoebe questioned.

"It's a change. We can't be as open about talking about magic as we have been in the past. Her roommate is a little nosy," Leo admitted.

"Do you wish she was still living at the Manor?" she probed.

"Wherever she wants to live is fine with m e. We don't really have the money to get a place of our own anyways," he answered.

"Do you wish she was still in the Manor?" he repeated.

"Yeah…I miss having her around. Even when Prue left, I still had someone around besides Dad," Phoebe answered.

"You've grown up a lot in the last ten years…you can handle it," Leo assured her.

"I'm just sixteen. I'm still a kid," she remarked.

"But you are a very gifted and powerful witch. One who has learned to hone her craft well," he said.

"Thanks, Leo. You're a good brother-in-law," she said, giving him a hug. Just then there was a honk outside.

"Would you mind orbing me downstairs? I mean…I would guess you want to see your wife," she asked. He nodded and they appeared at the front door in seconds.

"Hey," Phoebe said, practically pulling Piper across the threshold.

"Hi," she said, returning her sister's hug. She caught sight of Leo.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here," she teased, kissing him on the lips.

"Phoebe and I were having a little talk," he told her.

"So I have the room to myself tonight," she whispered but not soft enough to avoid Phoebe hearing.

"I don't need to hear that," Phoebe snickered, going to get her purse and jacket. Victor poked his head out of the kitchen.

"Have fun girls," he called. Piper and Leo shared one more kiss before he orbed out. With that the girls headed over to pick Prue up and head to their favorite restaurant.

"So how are classes?" Prue asked as she sipped her drink.

"Hard…but they're ok," Piper answered.

"What about you?" she asked, looking to Phoebe.

"They're alright I guess. It's school," she muttered. Both her sisters got a laugh from her response. School had never really been one of Phoebe's favorite things.

"So is the Manor really quiet?" Prue asked. Phoebe nodded and Piper gave a guilty look.

"I'm sorry we sort of abandoned you and Dad," she apologized.

"It's ok, Piper…just…it's kind of what I wanted to talk about," Phoebe said. Immediately, Prue and Piper moved a little closer to Phoebe so they wouldn't have to talk so loud.

"What's bothering you?" Prue asked.

"I've just been thinking. The last few years, we've been really lucky that we haven't had any major demonic enemies. But they can't just have given up. I'm just afraid that with all of us spread out in three different places, they'll take advantage. We are strongest together," Phoebe explained.

"Well…I guess we could always go and investigate. Sneak into the Underworld and see what's going on…who thee new higher ups are," Prue offered. They looked at Piper.

"Can it wait until the weekend? I have a lot of classes tomorrow," she asked.

"Sure. We can make it our weekend mission," Phoebe answered.

They ended their discussion jus tin time for their food to arrive. The sisters enjoyed their meal together, the topic changing to boys and life in general.

"So do people think it's weird that you're married?" Prue asked.

"Sort of. I didn't really tell all that many people. I told Jill and a couple other people but that's it," Piper answered.

"I told a couple of my friends and they couldn't believe you got married…or that Dad allowed it," Prue said.

"I didn't tell anyone," Phoebe said with a shrug as she bit into a French fry.

"You can tell people, Pheebs. It's ok. We got a marriage license and everything," Piper reminded her.

"Yeah but I have a lot of the same teachers you did and it just feels weird. I feel like they'll judge me because of it," Phoebe admitted.

"So you have any boys on the horizon?" Prue asked. Phoebe swallowed, almost choking on her burger. That was a loaded question wasn't it? She didn't really have anyone she was interested in or that was interested in her…except for Cole.

"Not really. Most of the guys at school are losers," Phoebe answered.

"What about that Todd guy. I thought you two were kind of together?" Piper pressed.

"Todd? Yeah right. I mean he's cool and everything but he's not my type," Phoebe scoffed, failing to hide a smile.

"Oh? What's your type then?" Prue teased.

"I don't know…more of a bad ass. Todd is just kind of a prankster," Phoebe answered.

"So what about Rick," Prue asked.

"No…he thinks he's cool and stuff but he's just kind of nuts. He's into stealing," Phoebe answered. They finished their meal in companionable silence and Piper dropped Prue off at her apartment and Phoebe at the Manor. Prue walked in to find Andy sitting on the couch, smiling broadly at a piece of paper.

"Why are you all smiles?" she asked.

"I passed all my exams. I'm on the force," he answered. She let out a squeal and hugged him, almost tackling him to the floor.

"I'm so proud of you. I knew you'd pass," she praised.

"Thanks," he said, kissing her.

"So how was the dinner?" he asked, once they were situated on the couch again.

"Good. It was fun to go out with them. I miss not seeing them all the time…even though it's a lot easier to get a shower here than at home," she answered with a laugh.

"Phoebe seemed like she needed to talk. Is everything ok?" he added.

"She's worried about demons taking advantage of us being spread out. She has a point. So we are going to take a little trip down to the Underworld this weekend and see what's going on. Size up the potential threats," she explained.

"You make it sound like a vacation," Andy muttered. Prue gave a small laugh that came out sounding more like a hiccup.

"I didn't mean for it come out that way," she apologized.

"I know you didn't. I just…when you go off and do things like this, I worry. I worry that you won't come back," he whispered. She leaned over and gave him a kiss.

"It's part of who we are. And I think lately we've lost touch with who that is," Prue said softly.