THREE
Phoebe's visit with her parole officer had proved enlightening.
Apparently, five years ago she had been convicted of shoplifting
nearly seventy thousand dollars in jewelry. She had spent four and
one half years in prison for it and had been out for the last six
months. Her parole officer thought she was having a schizophrenic
episode when she asked questions she should already know the answer
to.
By the time she left his office, he was convinced she was
loosing her mind. He threatened to pull her parole to get her some
psychiatric help. He only relented when she promised to get some
rest. She said she would be okay in a day or two. By the time she
got home, Piper was already there.
"Hey, sweetie," said Piper, as Phoebe came into the living room.
"So, what did you find out?"
"I'm a klepto," said Phoebe, plopping down onto the sofa. "To
the tune of seventy thousand dollars. That's why I was in prison."
"Ouch," said Piper. "You know, in a way, this has been a good
experience. It let's us find out what things might have been like if
we had never become the Charmed Ones. I guess you never got your life
straightened out."
"So it would seem," said Phoebe. "It's strange. To know how
your life might have turned out. I have to say I'm not crazy about
what I learned about myself. It's kind of unsettling."
"I know what you mean," said Piper. "According to what I found
out, Prue never existed. You, Paige, and I apparently are the only
sisters. There's not birth record or death record of Prue.
"That's not all. According to the newspapers I could find, the
McIntyre sisters seem to be present at a great many crimes. Especially mysterious deaths. Sound familiar?"
"A little too familiar," said Phoebe. "What about Andy? Did
you find out anything about him?"
"Yes," said Piper. "He's still alive. He and his partner,
Darryl Morris, made a major drug bust about two weeks ago. Got
decorated by the mayor and everything."
"Well," said Phoebe, "I found something strange." She reached
into her pocket and pulled out a necklace similar to the one Paige had
found. "I found this in my purse this morning. Remember it? It
belonged to that witch we saved. When we stripped Belthazor from
Cole."
"I remember," said Piper. "It was the symbol of her coven."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a similar necklace. "I
found this on my nightstand. I'm willing to bet that Paige will find
a similar one.
"You might be right," said Phoebe. "Do you think maybe we
belong to that coven? Is that why we have these necklaces?"
"I don't think so," said Piper. "There's no indication that we
have any special powers. We would have if we were witches. Besides,
there's nothing around the manor that suggests we belong to a coven."
"I guess you're right," said Phoebe. "I just wonder what it
means?"
"I don't know," said Piper. "I remember telling Patrice that we
had a similar heirloom to the triquetra. And that we had lost it
recently. I think this might be her way of trying to make things
easier for us."
"So you still believe it's Patrice doing this?" asked Phoebe.
"Yes," said Piper. "It's the only thing that makes any sense.
None of this happened until we met her in that center. Now, after
talking with her about the symbol, we suddenly have one. Similar to
the triquetra. Just as I told Patrice. Somehow, she's been able to
change things so that she and her sisters are the Charmed Ones instead
of us."
Just then the door opened and Paige came in. She came in and
put the papers she had printed up on the coffee table and sat down in
one of the chairs. She noticed the two necklaces that Phoebe and
Piper were holding.
"That's strange," she said, taking hers out of her pocket. "I
found one in my desk at work."
"We were just discussing that," said Piper. "I told Phoebe that
I had mentioned something about it to Patrice at the center. Then we
suddenly end up with these. I don't think it's any coincidence."
"Neither do I," said a voice. Suddenly, Matilda orbed in.
"Well, I checked their home. The Book of Shadows is there. Leo was
also there. He's their White Lighter."
"Then this is all real," said Piper. "Leo and I never met. We
aren't married and I'm not really pregnant."
"That's occurred to you then?" asked Phoebe.
"Of course I've thought of that," said Piper, anger in her
voice. "I'm sorry. It's all I've been thinking about since this all
started. You were pregnant, Phoebe. You know how it is. It's
constantly on your mind every second of every day."
"Sorry, honey," said Phoebe. "I guess I sounded a bit callous."
"It's okay," said Piper. "It's just so unfair. After
everything we went through, and now, none of it means anything.
Loosing Prue, defeating the Source, and now it's like it never
happened."
"It didn't," said Matilda. "While I was at their house, I
overheard them talking. They're wondering what the Source is going to
do next. He's still very much alive and still plaguing them."
"Great," said Paige. "Now, not only are we not the Charmed
Ones, we have that ugly, half faced, monstrosity to worry about."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that, human," said a voice from
the doorway to the living room. "You won't live long enough to get
close to him. Not that it would do you much good if you did."
The four women turned involuntarily toward the voice. In the
doorway stood a demon with his hand raised and a fireball simmering in
the palm. An evil smile was on his face as he faced Phoebe.
None of the women needed to be told who this demon was. The
sisters knew him intimately. And Matilda was familiar with him
because of her long standing as a White Lighter. While everyone was
surprised to see this demon in their home, Phoebe was the most
affected.
Standing in the doorway, about to incinerate them all with a
fireball, stood a creature that, only the day before, had been her
husband. Standing in the doorway was Belthazor.
Phoebe's visit with her parole officer had proved enlightening.
Apparently, five years ago she had been convicted of shoplifting
nearly seventy thousand dollars in jewelry. She had spent four and
one half years in prison for it and had been out for the last six
months. Her parole officer thought she was having a schizophrenic
episode when she asked questions she should already know the answer
to.
By the time she left his office, he was convinced she was
loosing her mind. He threatened to pull her parole to get her some
psychiatric help. He only relented when she promised to get some
rest. She said she would be okay in a day or two. By the time she
got home, Piper was already there.
"Hey, sweetie," said Piper, as Phoebe came into the living room.
"So, what did you find out?"
"I'm a klepto," said Phoebe, plopping down onto the sofa. "To
the tune of seventy thousand dollars. That's why I was in prison."
"Ouch," said Piper. "You know, in a way, this has been a good
experience. It let's us find out what things might have been like if
we had never become the Charmed Ones. I guess you never got your life
straightened out."
"So it would seem," said Phoebe. "It's strange. To know how
your life might have turned out. I have to say I'm not crazy about
what I learned about myself. It's kind of unsettling."
"I know what you mean," said Piper. "According to what I found
out, Prue never existed. You, Paige, and I apparently are the only
sisters. There's not birth record or death record of Prue.
"That's not all. According to the newspapers I could find, the
McIntyre sisters seem to be present at a great many crimes. Especially mysterious deaths. Sound familiar?"
"A little too familiar," said Phoebe. "What about Andy? Did
you find out anything about him?"
"Yes," said Piper. "He's still alive. He and his partner,
Darryl Morris, made a major drug bust about two weeks ago. Got
decorated by the mayor and everything."
"Well," said Phoebe, "I found something strange." She reached
into her pocket and pulled out a necklace similar to the one Paige had
found. "I found this in my purse this morning. Remember it? It
belonged to that witch we saved. When we stripped Belthazor from
Cole."
"I remember," said Piper. "It was the symbol of her coven."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a similar necklace. "I
found this on my nightstand. I'm willing to bet that Paige will find
a similar one.
"You might be right," said Phoebe. "Do you think maybe we
belong to that coven? Is that why we have these necklaces?"
"I don't think so," said Piper. "There's no indication that we
have any special powers. We would have if we were witches. Besides,
there's nothing around the manor that suggests we belong to a coven."
"I guess you're right," said Phoebe. "I just wonder what it
means?"
"I don't know," said Piper. "I remember telling Patrice that we
had a similar heirloom to the triquetra. And that we had lost it
recently. I think this might be her way of trying to make things
easier for us."
"So you still believe it's Patrice doing this?" asked Phoebe.
"Yes," said Piper. "It's the only thing that makes any sense.
None of this happened until we met her in that center. Now, after
talking with her about the symbol, we suddenly have one. Similar to
the triquetra. Just as I told Patrice. Somehow, she's been able to
change things so that she and her sisters are the Charmed Ones instead
of us."
Just then the door opened and Paige came in. She came in and
put the papers she had printed up on the coffee table and sat down in
one of the chairs. She noticed the two necklaces that Phoebe and
Piper were holding.
"That's strange," she said, taking hers out of her pocket. "I
found one in my desk at work."
"We were just discussing that," said Piper. "I told Phoebe that
I had mentioned something about it to Patrice at the center. Then we
suddenly end up with these. I don't think it's any coincidence."
"Neither do I," said a voice. Suddenly, Matilda orbed in.
"Well, I checked their home. The Book of Shadows is there. Leo was
also there. He's their White Lighter."
"Then this is all real," said Piper. "Leo and I never met. We
aren't married and I'm not really pregnant."
"That's occurred to you then?" asked Phoebe.
"Of course I've thought of that," said Piper, anger in her
voice. "I'm sorry. It's all I've been thinking about since this all
started. You were pregnant, Phoebe. You know how it is. It's
constantly on your mind every second of every day."
"Sorry, honey," said Phoebe. "I guess I sounded a bit callous."
"It's okay," said Piper. "It's just so unfair. After
everything we went through, and now, none of it means anything.
Loosing Prue, defeating the Source, and now it's like it never
happened."
"It didn't," said Matilda. "While I was at their house, I
overheard them talking. They're wondering what the Source is going to
do next. He's still very much alive and still plaguing them."
"Great," said Paige. "Now, not only are we not the Charmed
Ones, we have that ugly, half faced, monstrosity to worry about."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that, human," said a voice from
the doorway to the living room. "You won't live long enough to get
close to him. Not that it would do you much good if you did."
The four women turned involuntarily toward the voice. In the
doorway stood a demon with his hand raised and a fireball simmering in
the palm. An evil smile was on his face as he faced Phoebe.
None of the women needed to be told who this demon was. The
sisters knew him intimately. And Matilda was familiar with him
because of her long standing as a White Lighter. While everyone was
surprised to see this demon in their home, Phoebe was the most
affected.
Standing in the doorway, about to incinerate them all with a
fireball, stood a creature that, only the day before, had been her
husband. Standing in the doorway was Belthazor.