Hi, so here is another chapter, this one is the first of the Season 3 arc and kicks of the final bit of this story. As I said in the last chapter some events of Season 3 will be changed around to accommodates Prue's pregnancy and Andy being, alive.

Thank you all for your support with this story and I look forwards to bringing you the next chapter as soon as I can.

Again some episodes will be glossed over and events mixed or missed so please keep that in mind as the AU part of this story continues.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine,

Please Read and Review.

Before And After

Chapter 13-Consenting Adults

As Season 3 begins, Piper is fighting for the love of her life, Phoebe meets the love of her life and Prue is pregnant. Andy and Daryl feel sometimes as if they are just along for the ride.

It was Prue who called him from the hospital.

She had started the call with "Both me and the baby are ok but we were demon hunting" which was not the best way to do it but once Andy could breathe again she explained what had happened at the rave and his concern had gone straight from them to Daryl who was decidedly mortal and apparently getting checked out.

Shelia was there too. Letting Phoebe comfort her before she worked her way into a full blown blow out Andy turned to Prue who was in a sweater and jeans with all the look of a woman who had been kept up recently because her body was being engrossed in a war with a little tick that wouldn't quit.

Her words—not Andy's. And it was a look that he was achingly familiar with.

It was now three months since she had learnt that she was pregnant. In that time they had battled a genie, a dragon and found out that something called the Triad existed and it's main goal was to defeat the Charmed Ones by any means necessary.

And wasn't that the best news at the worst possible time?

That was sarcasm. Andy was now using sarcasm a lot—it was his defence mechanism.

Piper had also gone away with Leo. Where she had gone and what she was doing nobody knew. She had told Leo emphatically that she had wanted to see where 'They' lived and then they had orbed away together and that had been nearly a month ago.

And the tempers of the two sisters were not in the best place.

Phoebe was pissed that Piper had abandoned them, was grappling with a new power that seemed to involve flying—and she was torn between delight with it and utter horror when it came to the landing—seriously Andy was now wondering if it was worth investing in a crash helmet just for going down the stairs some days.

It was hard to tell.

Prue had been battling intense morning sickness most of which she liked to blame on Andy. Also as her belly had gone from being hard with muscle to being hard with a baby she had taken to throwing him nasty looks whenever she couldn't wear something that was making her midriff show.

"I spend nearly five years getting something that resembles abs and it goes up in smoke because of one lousy awakening spell" she muttered that morning as she found a jumper to wear. "I do hope your happy Andrew"

Bitter, bitter experience had taught him that when Prue called him by his official name it was never a good sign. There was a reason they were Prue and Andy and not Prudence and Andrew.

Heaven forbid.

Despite the morning sickness which even he had to admit should be renamed as All Day Sickness—or—Whenever Someone Has the Nerve to Cook Chicken Sickness—as Phoebe learnt that one morning as the weather turned, they were doing rather well. Daryl though had been the one to kickstart him into gear with that because as his partner told him (and he was the expert with two kids and another being quietly discussed) and soon he was getting emails about cribs and buggies and nursery schools and all sorts of things he had never had to consider.

There were other things he had to consider that he had never thought about.

Like demons and portals and witches and evil Triads.

But all of that was for much later.

Right now he had so much more to deal with.

Like Prue in the Emergency Room pregnant with his baby.

And though she did not want to admit it he thought that he was doing rather well with such a thing.

It was Prue and it was his baby in her belly and he was growing strong.

So what did Andy care really, that Piper was missing and Phoebe was furious with everyone and anyone and that the Triad was around to kill them all?

He did a lot. But he also cared about his baby. And his baby was growing strong.

"You ok" he asked Prue.

"Yeah—put your hand there and I'll remove it" she said warning him. That was another thing that he had learnt rapidly. She didn't mind it when he touched the bump in the privacy of their own bedroom but she hated it when he did it in public. It was almost as if she wanted to hide the fact that she was pregnant for as long as possible.

Andy didn't get it but he tried to understand it.

"That's the first thing to go" Daryl said sagely over another bear claw and a beer. "You'll find yourself doing anything and everything in order to keep a quiet life. And enjoy sleep while you have it because that my friend is going to go"

Andy had said nothing.

He was not even now when he had almost died going to give his partner the satisfaction of knowing that he was right.

"Yeah" Prue said snapping him back to the present moment. "And we got the demon which was…the plan but he killed a poor girl who came out at the right moment and…and the perp saw us use our powers"

"Believe me he's not going to say anything" Andy said seeing what she was worried about and addressing it immediately. "Unless he's planning an insanity defence and even then no judge is going to buy witchcraft."

Prue didn't look convinced.

"The ADA wants us to testify"

"Yeah?"

"Phoebe likes him. His name is Cole Turner. Did you know him while you were a cop by any chance?"

Andy thought about it, he really did but over a course of a lot of cases in both the public and the private landscape he really couldn't place the name. There had just been so many ADA's.

"Doesn't ring a bell" he said shrugging. He caught the look on Prue's face.

"That doesn't mean anything" he said warningly. "There are a lot of people in that office and a lot of them come and go"

Prue said nothing but worried her bottom lip.

"It's just…there's something about him"

"Like what?"

"I don't know…but there is just something about him"

Andy wanted to ask if it was her hormones making her feel this way but then stopped. There had been enough bloodshed already this night without adding to it.

"Don't worry" he said as Prue worried her bottom lip again. "Seriously Prue it's going to look worse if you don't testify. Just get through it and then the man can go to prison and we can move on"

"I just wish that Piper was back" Prue whispered. "It's a hell of a lot easier when it's the three of us against these bastards"

Andy said nothing. He was not going to give Prue anything more to worry about but he had to admit that he wanted Piper back too. Prue was a big sister through and through and she would worry herself to death over her sisters. Right now she didn't need much more to worry about. He didn't know what was going to happen when the Triad and the rest of them found out that Prue was pregnant but he sure as shit didn't want them to find out until they had to.

Prue was tired.

And bored.

And tired.

And sick of chicken.

The thing…well…the baby inside of her did nothing. Granted it was too early but as she sat there letting Phoebe wax poetic about the ADA she thought that she didn't know what to feel about it. She wanted to love being pregnant. She always though that she would but the more her pregnancy progressed the more she thought about her mother, her grandmother, her own childhood and the fact that this baby inside of her was depending on her to stay alive.

She tapped her nails against the arm of the chair but she was saved Phoebe's questions by Piper literally arriving mid row with Leo only to stalk off without realising that she had been gone a month, that Prue was showing and that Leo was looking as if his heart had been ripped out through his throat.

God what she wouldn't give to have a quiet day. Even for a witch.

And a pregnant one at that.

Her stomach rolled as she stepped out into the street.

Christ she was getting sick of mourning sickness.

And she hated cooked chicken.

Ugh.

Later they were fighting the demons. All of them and it was then as she felt one about to punch her that he seemed to stop mid air. And then he tumbled backwards as a flash of blue fire came out of nowhere and threw him backwards. It took Prue a second to realise what was going on and then she grinned.

It seemed that baby Peter was going to protect himself even before he arrived.

Damn she was proud.

The blue fire came out again as the last demon fell and the guardians rose to join their master.

"Nice" Phoebe said jumping down from where she had been stood on a table.

"Baby got powers?"

"Baby knows how to protect himself" Prue said grinning.

"In this family he's going to need it" Piper muttered.

But as it turned out they didn't need to vanquish the judge.

Someone had beaten them too it.

That was…odd…

Prue didn't care.

She just wanted to get out of here and go home. Her bed was calling to her. So was sleep.

It was hard to tell what had happened. One minute he was frozen the next he wasn't.

Andy was getting used to this and if that wasn't a thought to keep him up at night he didn't know what was.

They came back to see Cole on the floor and everyone else gone.

Cole Turner took what could only be a bullshit explanation rather well. Considering the man had tried to kill him on more than occasion Andy got the impression Cole was not going to try too hard to figure out what had happened to the bastard he was supposed to be prosecuting or the judge who had so obviously been corrupt. Prue shot him a look that said she would explain everything and much more when she got home but she winked at him and Andy took that to mean the baby was alright.

"So he has powers"

Prue slid into bed and felt rather than saw Andy slide in next to her.

"Yep. And he's protecting himself which is good"

"Oh yeah. You need all the weapons in your arsenal that you can get and so does He."

"He?"

"Course. That's what the future showed wasn't it. Peter and Anna"

"Yeah I just…if it goes wrong and it's Anna before Peter?"

"Makes no difference to me" Andy said into the softness of his pillow. "You know that"

"Yeah. I do" she said kissing him. He kissed her back slowly and softly and she grinned into the darkness.

It was the first time she felt good about her pregnancy.

Long may that feeling last.

He went back to his apartment feeling drained. Not just the half-human side of him that felt drained more and more these days but also the demon side of him.

The demon side of him never felt drained and yet he had been in the Charmed One's life for only three days and already he felt drained beyond everything and anything he had ever felt before. Hunting witches did not do this to him. He was Balthazar for the love of all that was evil!

And yet…

It was the youngest. He had known it was the youngest the second that he had seen her. Something inside of him that he had long ago believed to be dead had given a yank and now he couldn't sleep when all he wanted to do was sleep. And for a demon who didn't need to sleep that was strange in itself.

He sighed and though about the other two. Piper was happily with the white lighter that left shiny goo all over his hands—ugh—and Prue was with a mortal and if the rumours were true pregnant.

That had been obvious and it was a clear weapon to be used by his side against their side, especially as all of the intelligence he had gathered—though it wasn't much, no demon went near them unless it was necessary and even then it was done with much, much reluctance—the other side didn't know about it.

Interesting, was it that the Elders were so afraid of what might happen if they pushed the Power of Three too far? Already there were rumours that Andrew Trudeau should be dead and that something had happened for them to let him live—or at least to let the doctors save him. Would it be that they would let other things happen? One of their own marrying them? One of his marrying them?

As soon as he thought that Cole shook his head and downed his beer. That was pointless, utterly pointless. Even if the Elders did get over that idea there was no way his side would let him…

And where did that even come from? He didn't want marriage to a witch he wanted his humanity back.

And that would mean killing the witches, the baby, the humans and the white lighter.

Damn it this would be a messy job.

Cole took another swig of beer and went to bed. Perhaps after a good nights sleep he could go and find a low level demon to torture. That always made him feel better. After all he had enjoyed watching the judge burn. Perhaps all he needed was stress relief.

Cole went to bed and turned around under his five thousand dollar sheets (if the Triad was fitting the bill for this endeavour they were going to pay for it—as much as they paid for anything). He did not want to think about curly blonde hair or bright eyes when he thought about stress relief or love or need.

This job was going to be hard enough without adding to it.

No. Adding to it was the last thing he needed.

And with that his lay on his bed and fell into the half sleep, half awakening thing that only a half demon, half human could do.

And there you are, I hope that you like this chapter and I will do my best to give you the next chapter sooner rather than later.

Next Chapter-Piper and Leo's wedding is derailed forcing the bride to go on strike and her sisters to wonder if they should follow as the lines between what the Charmed One's will do for THEM are drawn. And then as Halloween comes around the sister's confront the old and the new generations as Andy and Daryl help Leo battle demons.