THREE
Darryl had been right about the latest crime scene. It was
swarming with police and forensic experts. Prue couldn't get any
closer than the taped off areas. The previous two crime scenes held
nothing that gave her a clue to the warlock.
And on the way over, the news reported some very disturbing
news. Another ripper victim had been found. Apparently murdered the
same night as victim number three, the body had only been discovered
an hour ago.
Now, Prue stood in front of Pipers' modest two-story house. It
was nothing like the manor. On the outskirts of the city, it was
obviously very old, but still in reasonably good shape.
Prue still had no idea what she was going to say. Nervously,
she rang the doorbell. After a few moments, the door opened and a
young girl faced Prue.
"There was no mistaking who this girl was. She looked just as
Piper did at the same age. There could be no doubt this was Heather,
Pipers' daughter.
"Can I help you?" asked the girl.
"You must be Heather," said Prue.
"Yes," said the girl. "Do I know you? You kind of look
familiar."
"You've probably seen pictures of me," said Prue. "I'm your
Aunt Prue."
"That's impossible," said Heather. "Prue disappeared almost
thirty years ago. You're obviously not old enough to be her."
"That's kind of a long story," said Prue. "May I come in? I'd
like to speak to your mother for a minute, if I could."
"I suppose," said Heather. "She's upstairs right now. She
should be down in a minute."
The house was comfortable. Pictures covered the walls. Any
pictures of Prue were conspicuously missing, however. But there were
pictures of other people, probably friends of Pipers'.
"Heather, who was that at the door?" asked Piper, coming down
the stairs. Here voice trailed off when she saw Prue.
"We have to talk, Piper," said Prue. "It's important."
"I told you never to come back here," spat out Piper. "You're
dead to this family. Now, get out of my house."
"Mom," said Heather, "she says she Aunt Prue. But she can't be.
Aunt Prue was older than you."
"It doesn't matter," said Piper. "She's leaving and that's
that."
"This isn't about us anymore," said Prue. "There's an innocent
in danger who needs our help."
"I don't do that anymore," said Piper, picking up the phone.
"If you won't leave on your own, I'll just have the police do it."
Prue waved her arm and the phone was torn from Pipers' hand. It
slid across the table out of Pipers' reach. Heather just watched in
amazement.
"No," said Prue angrily. "Damn it, Piper, you're going to
listen to me."
"Whoa," said Heather. "How did you do that?"
"I'm a witch," said Prue, not taking her eyes off Piper. "Just
like your mother and just like your Aunt Phoebe. We're the Charmed
Ones."
"Not anymore," screamed Piper, anger in her voice. "We haven't
been the Charmed Ones since you abandoned us twenty-eight years ago.
Just like dad did when we were kids."
"I didn't abandon you," said Prue. "Do you think I could
actually do that? After what dad did to us?"
"You just disappeared," said Piper. "Phoebe and I still had our
powers, so we knew you were still alive. What other explanation could
there possibly be?"
"A warlock," said Prue. "I got into a fight with a warlock and
somehow got pushed ahead in time. To now. I only arrived here
yesterday."
"I don't believe you," snapped Piper.
"Look at me, Piper," said Prue. "I haven't aged. I'm the same
age I was that night we had our argument. You know we can move
through time using magic. We did it when we brought Melinda with us
to fight Tate. And there was that warlock who came back just after we
received our powers. The first one we ever faced.
"And what about the time we all three went ten years into the
future? When Phoebe was burned for being a witch. You know it's
possible. You know what magic can do."
"Yes, I do," said Piper. "For all I know, you've used a spell
to make yourself young again. Hell, you might even have become a
warlock for all I know."
"Neither of those has happened," said Prue. "If I had turned
evil and become a warlock, you'd have known it. Do you honestly think
I would be capable of abandoning you?? Knowing how I feel about dad
doing it to us? I could never do that, Piper. Especially not to you.
You were old enough to remember and understand."
"Mom, if this is true," started Heather.
"Stay out of this, Heather," said Piper. "This doesn't concern
you. This is between Prue and me."
"No, I won't stay out of it," said Heather, turning to face her
mother. "If this really is Aunt Prue, then she's my family, too. I
have a right to know her. No one, not even you, has the right to take
that away from me. If she really is Prue Halliwell, then it does most
certainly involve me."
"You're very much like your mother," said Prue to Heather.
"Mom always taught me to think for myself," said Heather. "To
not just take things at face value." She turned to face Piper again.
"You said Prue just disappeared after the two of you had an argument.
Now, she shows up with an explanation. And from as young as she
looks, that explanation would seem to be a reasonable one. Assuming
everything you've ever told me about magic is true. Tell me, mother.
Is her explanation totally unbelievable?
"I've always scoffed at the stories you and Aunt Phoebe used to
tell me. Stories about demons and magic and the Charmed Ones. Now,
I'm not so sure anymore. Aunt Prue, if that's who she is, shows up
showing me it is all apparently true. So you tell me, mom. Is what
she saying possible or not?"
Piper looked at Heather, then at Prue. She knew it was very
possible. They had all seen what magic could do.
"It's possible," said Piper weakly. "It just seems a bit too
convenient, that's all."
"Convenient for whom?" asked Prue. "I'm twenty-eight years out
of time. I have almost no idea what's going on in the world. I've
missed out on half of yours and Phoebes' lives. I have a nearly full-
grown niece that I now virtually nothing about. Not to mention that
all of my friends are either twice my age or they're dead.
Personally, I find it damned inconvenient."
"Mom," said Heather, "I know I don't know Aunt Prue as well as
you do. In fact, I don't know her at all. But if what you told me
about being a Charmed One is true, it seems what she's saying could be
true.
"You told me how much she hated granddad for abandoning you as
children. Do you honestly think it was possible for her to do what he
did? Knowing how she felt about it?"
"You really didn't run out on us?" asked Piper, her eyes
beginning to tear.
"Piper, honey," said Prue, "I could never do that. Especially
not to you. Dad left, mom died, then grams passed. You, Phoebe, and
I were all we had. I couldn't take that away. I'm not dad."
"I've hated you for twenty-five years," said Piper, a tear
running down her cheek. "I've hated you for running out on Phoebe and
me and leaving us alone. Now, to think, I wasted all those years."
"No," said Prue, taking her sister in her arms, "don't blame
yourself. There's no way you had of knowing what happened. I would
probably have thought the same thing if our roles had been reversed."
The two sisters spent long moments in a very tearful reunion.
Darryl had been right about the latest crime scene. It was
swarming with police and forensic experts. Prue couldn't get any
closer than the taped off areas. The previous two crime scenes held
nothing that gave her a clue to the warlock.
And on the way over, the news reported some very disturbing
news. Another ripper victim had been found. Apparently murdered the
same night as victim number three, the body had only been discovered
an hour ago.
Now, Prue stood in front of Pipers' modest two-story house. It
was nothing like the manor. On the outskirts of the city, it was
obviously very old, but still in reasonably good shape.
Prue still had no idea what she was going to say. Nervously,
she rang the doorbell. After a few moments, the door opened and a
young girl faced Prue.
"There was no mistaking who this girl was. She looked just as
Piper did at the same age. There could be no doubt this was Heather,
Pipers' daughter.
"Can I help you?" asked the girl.
"You must be Heather," said Prue.
"Yes," said the girl. "Do I know you? You kind of look
familiar."
"You've probably seen pictures of me," said Prue. "I'm your
Aunt Prue."
"That's impossible," said Heather. "Prue disappeared almost
thirty years ago. You're obviously not old enough to be her."
"That's kind of a long story," said Prue. "May I come in? I'd
like to speak to your mother for a minute, if I could."
"I suppose," said Heather. "She's upstairs right now. She
should be down in a minute."
The house was comfortable. Pictures covered the walls. Any
pictures of Prue were conspicuously missing, however. But there were
pictures of other people, probably friends of Pipers'.
"Heather, who was that at the door?" asked Piper, coming down
the stairs. Here voice trailed off when she saw Prue.
"We have to talk, Piper," said Prue. "It's important."
"I told you never to come back here," spat out Piper. "You're
dead to this family. Now, get out of my house."
"Mom," said Heather, "she says she Aunt Prue. But she can't be.
Aunt Prue was older than you."
"It doesn't matter," said Piper. "She's leaving and that's
that."
"This isn't about us anymore," said Prue. "There's an innocent
in danger who needs our help."
"I don't do that anymore," said Piper, picking up the phone.
"If you won't leave on your own, I'll just have the police do it."
Prue waved her arm and the phone was torn from Pipers' hand. It
slid across the table out of Pipers' reach. Heather just watched in
amazement.
"No," said Prue angrily. "Damn it, Piper, you're going to
listen to me."
"Whoa," said Heather. "How did you do that?"
"I'm a witch," said Prue, not taking her eyes off Piper. "Just
like your mother and just like your Aunt Phoebe. We're the Charmed
Ones."
"Not anymore," screamed Piper, anger in her voice. "We haven't
been the Charmed Ones since you abandoned us twenty-eight years ago.
Just like dad did when we were kids."
"I didn't abandon you," said Prue. "Do you think I could
actually do that? After what dad did to us?"
"You just disappeared," said Piper. "Phoebe and I still had our
powers, so we knew you were still alive. What other explanation could
there possibly be?"
"A warlock," said Prue. "I got into a fight with a warlock and
somehow got pushed ahead in time. To now. I only arrived here
yesterday."
"I don't believe you," snapped Piper.
"Look at me, Piper," said Prue. "I haven't aged. I'm the same
age I was that night we had our argument. You know we can move
through time using magic. We did it when we brought Melinda with us
to fight Tate. And there was that warlock who came back just after we
received our powers. The first one we ever faced.
"And what about the time we all three went ten years into the
future? When Phoebe was burned for being a witch. You know it's
possible. You know what magic can do."
"Yes, I do," said Piper. "For all I know, you've used a spell
to make yourself young again. Hell, you might even have become a
warlock for all I know."
"Neither of those has happened," said Prue. "If I had turned
evil and become a warlock, you'd have known it. Do you honestly think
I would be capable of abandoning you?? Knowing how I feel about dad
doing it to us? I could never do that, Piper. Especially not to you.
You were old enough to remember and understand."
"Mom, if this is true," started Heather.
"Stay out of this, Heather," said Piper. "This doesn't concern
you. This is between Prue and me."
"No, I won't stay out of it," said Heather, turning to face her
mother. "If this really is Aunt Prue, then she's my family, too. I
have a right to know her. No one, not even you, has the right to take
that away from me. If she really is Prue Halliwell, then it does most
certainly involve me."
"You're very much like your mother," said Prue to Heather.
"Mom always taught me to think for myself," said Heather. "To
not just take things at face value." She turned to face Piper again.
"You said Prue just disappeared after the two of you had an argument.
Now, she shows up with an explanation. And from as young as she
looks, that explanation would seem to be a reasonable one. Assuming
everything you've ever told me about magic is true. Tell me, mother.
Is her explanation totally unbelievable?
"I've always scoffed at the stories you and Aunt Phoebe used to
tell me. Stories about demons and magic and the Charmed Ones. Now,
I'm not so sure anymore. Aunt Prue, if that's who she is, shows up
showing me it is all apparently true. So you tell me, mom. Is what
she saying possible or not?"
Piper looked at Heather, then at Prue. She knew it was very
possible. They had all seen what magic could do.
"It's possible," said Piper weakly. "It just seems a bit too
convenient, that's all."
"Convenient for whom?" asked Prue. "I'm twenty-eight years out
of time. I have almost no idea what's going on in the world. I've
missed out on half of yours and Phoebes' lives. I have a nearly full-
grown niece that I now virtually nothing about. Not to mention that
all of my friends are either twice my age or they're dead.
Personally, I find it damned inconvenient."
"Mom," said Heather, "I know I don't know Aunt Prue as well as
you do. In fact, I don't know her at all. But if what you told me
about being a Charmed One is true, it seems what she's saying could be
true.
"You told me how much she hated granddad for abandoning you as
children. Do you honestly think it was possible for her to do what he
did? Knowing how she felt about it?"
"You really didn't run out on us?" asked Piper, her eyes
beginning to tear.
"Piper, honey," said Prue, "I could never do that. Especially
not to you. Dad left, mom died, then grams passed. You, Phoebe, and
I were all we had. I couldn't take that away. I'm not dad."
"I've hated you for twenty-five years," said Piper, a tear
running down her cheek. "I've hated you for running out on Phoebe and
me and leaving us alone. Now, to think, I wasted all those years."
"No," said Prue, taking her sister in her arms, "don't blame
yourself. There's no way you had of knowing what happened. I would
probably have thought the same thing if our roles had been reversed."
The two sisters spent long moments in a very tearful reunion.