Hi, so here is another chapter and I hope that you enjoy this chapter and I will do my best to bring you the next one sooner rather than later. Obviously this is not the end of the drama. Just the beginning...

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this chapter.

Please Read and Review.

And as always nothing here is cannon. This entire story is AU so...

Before And After

Chapter 16-The Other Side Of Midnight.

As Prue and Andy try to enjoy pregnancy, a demon attempts to rip the sisters apart and Cole's duel role is revealed. The aftermath sees them more divided than ever.

The hunt for Balthazar was intensifying. There was a sense that soon every demon would know that Prue was pregnant and already she had taken to wearing jumpers around the house and Andy had stopped locking away his gun at night. They had an understanding between the five of them that they would get Balthazar and soon.

What they had not anticipated—or at least what Andy had not anticipated was how much stress that was going to be.

It meant that they could be doing something as perfectly easy as having breakfast and then Leo disguised as the demon would stalk in and Andy would reach for his gun and using deflective fire (always pretend in these scenario's—there was only so much that they could do to the house) he would be the distraction long enough for the sisters to go into action. They needed a slice of flesh to complete the potion and Andy who absolutely did not want to be there when the potion was made had agreed to do what little he could to help.

He didn't want to say it out loud but between him and Prue there the knowledge that he had been the distraction once before and that had not ended well for all of them. Andy did not want to be the distraction again if he could help it.

But there was also a growing tension between the sisters that was showing now and more to the point getting impossible to ignore. It was noticeable to the point where even Leo was getting that there was a problem which meant to Andy (who had grown up with the sisters) that another explosion was just around the corner.

It was the nature of sisters though that they were going to fight. Prue, Piper and Phoebe were closer than they had been in years but that didn't stop the fact that they were three young woman who lived together and who all had strong personalities and wanted different things out of life. Throw in the fact that one was pregnant, one was trying to find love and one was trying to keep love Andy thought that it was a miracle that there hadn't been a fight and that was before the homeowner's association meeting had come up.

"Andy can you—"

"No" he said flatly. Prue shot him a look but Andy for once had a legitimate excuse.

"Daryl is back from his cruise and I said I would pick him and Shelia up. Now I can't very well leave them stranded at the airport after a four and half hour flight can I?"

"Fine" Piper said sighing. "Then I guess I will just cancel my doctor's appointment…again…"

"And no more earthquake drills" Leo said wincing as the cut moved on his throat. "We can give it a rest for the rest of the week."

"Why do demons take a weekend?" Andy muttered. Leo looked at him with genuine curiosity.

"You know I don't know…I suppose they must do but—"

"Honey not now" Piper said in a snappy kind of tone and Leo sensing that this was not a wise time to push fell silent. Andy followed suite. What would happen would happen, and he knew that they would have to face the consequences when it did.

The problem with taking Daryl and Shelia to see their kids after a two week break was that you eventually got dragged into Mamma Morse's house and she ended up feeding you. That had been great when Andy had been Daryl's partner and he had been contemplating a rather nasty case, it was not great when she was serving her four cheese ravioli and your phone kept buzzing.

Seriously. Unless Prue was going into labour he was staying for this.

And maybe not even then.

So when got several phone calls from Leo he was not best pleased. He flipped his phone off and instead tucked into pasta. If it was something to do with Prue then he was sure that Piper and Phoebe would come to get him.

"There you are"

"Jesus Leo warning…we've talked about this!"

He had gone to his car and Leo had arrived. Literally out of thin air.

"Sorry. But I was trying to get a hold of you and I couldn't."

"Is it Prue?"

"Well…oh not the baby no that's fine but…she and her sister's got into a fight"

Andy regarded Leo with some sympathy.

"Were you an only child?"

"Yes"

"Any female friends growing up?"

"Some but…"

"Leo, sister's fight. And the Halliwell's…you think this fight was bad you should have seen them before they had powers, would have made the Pacific look like an easy ride"

Leo pulled a face as if he wanted to disagree but thought better of it at the last moment.

"It's not that, this one's a big one. THEY heard about it and the sister's fractured the power of three."

It took Andy a second to contemplate that. As he did he passed Leo the tub of pasta leftovers and Leo grabbed the accompanying fork and dug in.

"Damn this is good. No wonder you weren't answering your phone"

"Yeah…so let me get this straight, the Charmed One's are not the Charmed One's anymore"

"Depends, they know they made a mistake and I left them alone to sort out their issues. Piper is going to text me when it's safe to come home."

"Smart move"

"Yeah. It's just…you and me, we know they've been building to something and building rapidly but to shattered the Power of Three—that is a hell of a lot of rage my friend"

"Yeah."

And just as he said it the realisation hit him hard.

"Like a demon kind of thing?"

Leo looked at him.

"You think?"

"Demon designed to bring out the worst in people? Come on Leo they do that on a daily basis. Surely there must be one out of all of them that can do it to three sisters?"

"Witches"

But Andy was already shaking his head.

"No sisters. Look they were sisters before they found out that they had powers and they used to fight like cats in a basket but it didn't change anything. Sisters first. Witches second. And how easy would it be to make sister's fight each other if we had a demon that knew what they were doing?"

Leo thought about it for a second.

"Easy" he said swallowing his mouthful. "Can I have this?"

"She made me take three boxes your good. Shall I drive?"

"Err…yes…or I could orb?"

Andy who had orbed once before and had held firm to the belief that he was not going to do that ever again shook his head.

"Get in the car, this my friend is what is called evasive manoeuvres"

"Like the war?"

Andy thought about it. He supposed that must be the last time that Leo had driven anything. And that had been a tank through the jungle he supposed. Come to think of it had Leo even gotten a licence? The second he thought it though he dismissed it. Even Andy knew it you were used to orbing it was better and a damn sight more cheaper than being in the car.

"Yeah"

Leo looked pleased.

"Never again"

Prue looked up from where she was studying the demon flesh.

Leo came in looking rather pale and clutching several Tupperware dishes as if they were his last link to life followed by Andy who was looking rather smug as well as hideously concerned.

"You ok?" he asked his hand coming out to touch the bump that was now rapidly forming.

"Yeah. We made up and we managed to not only destroy the demon of rage or whatever but also—"

She held up the flesh and Andy pulled a face.

"Did you wound him enough to make a difference?"

"Hard to tell but it doesn't matter. Soon we will be able to vanquish him once and for all and then we can go back to our normal lives"

"You mean worry about the next one"

She shrugged but Andy didn't seem to be too bothered by that.

"Well at least we know the baby can protect himself"

"Yeah" she said softly. Andy kissed her and then brushed his thumb over her navel.

"What's wrong with Leo anyway?"

Andy grinned looking more like the boy she had once known and not like the man he had become.

"Just a little revenge. He orbs like I drive. Nice little turn around. Turns out he during the war Leo didn't drive up hills at eighty miles an hour. Especially not after Mamma Morse's ravioli"

"Hey did she—"

"Sent you three tubs"

"Nice"

Prue was hungry.

The baby agreed.

She rang Andy with trembling fingers.

"Hello"

"Where are you?"

Perhaps he picked up on the tone of her voice or perhaps he just knew her because when he spoke again his voice was sharp and she knew he was reaching for his gun.

She knew.

She had known.

"Is it the baby—Prue?"

"No it's…it's Balthazar"

"Didn't you defeat him already?"

"We tried…he killed the Triad Andy."

"I don't get it, isn't that a good thing?"

"Yeah but…we worked with a bounty hunter to find him and—"

"You did WHAT?"

"LISTEN TO ME"

"Alright no need to yell—"

"It's Cole"

There was a silence that followed that sentence.

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's Cole Andy, Cole's Balthazar"

For a second he didn't understand her and then as soon as he though through the sentence it all made sense.

Cole Turner had appeared around the same time as Balthazar. He had been unflinchingly ignorant when it came to the goings and comings at the house (not the way Andy had been) he had known stuff and more to the point his disappearing acts always tended to coincide with his other half's appearance. And now…this…

He remembered Prue when there had been a stalker in the house. When the windows had been opened and Cole had been in the trapped circle. Andy had chalked it down to paranoia and God only knows what else but now it was looking more and more like Prue had been right all along.

"Where's Phoebe"

"I think she might be with him"

She did a good job of keeping the terror out of her voice and Andy could understand but he also knew Prue and he knew that she was utterly terrified. Phoebe had fallen deeply in love with Cole and she was alone with him and though Andy had full faith in Phoebe's ability to kick the shit out a man (and a wounded one to boot) how she would do alone with a demon was another story.

Especially considering she loved that demon.

"Where are you?"

"Cemetery"

Andy refrained from rolling his eyes and saying naturally with great difficulty.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. I know this is a bit of a pipe dream but can you please wait until I get there"

There was a silence.

Andy knew it already.

She watched the flames dance and lick at Cole's coat. The expensive coat that had smelt of his aftershave and was still warm with his skin even though he had given it to someone else. The potion was gone, the bounty hunter was gone and now Cole was gone. Everyone would believe that the Charmed One's had killed him. His backers were dead too and she knew that Cole would not come back no matter how much she wanted him too…no matter how much she craved him too.

She loved him.

There was no dancing about the issue now it was just her and a burning coat and an even brighter burning secret.

She loved him.

She still loved him.

Phoebe feared that she would always love him.

There was a crashing noise and she tore her eyes away and looked. Her sister's, Andy, Leo…everyone who had counted on her to do the right thing.

And she had not.

"You did what you had to do" Prue said stroking back her hair like she had done when she was little and she had, had a nightmare.

"Yeah" Phoebe said feeling slightly dazed.

"I did what I had to do."

And that was the last bit of truth she could ever speak on the subject.

For tonight a divide had opened between her and her sisters and she was not sure if she would ever be able to close it.

And she was not sure that she wanted it too.

Her mouth was still bruised with his kisses.

And yet she could not help but feel as if she had taken a step forwards into something dangerous and unknown that Phoebe was sure would bite her and her family on the backside at some point.

But it didn't matter. Not for right now.

Because she loved him.

And God only knows what happened next.

And there you are, I hope you like this chapter and I will bring you the next one sooner rather than later.

Next Chapter-Andy and Prue contemplate their very different father experiences when Prue comes face to face with hers for the first time in years and Andy's shares his opinion on his life post retirement. Oh and there is a demon looking deceptively innocent to boot.