Once again, my apologies on the time it took to ready this chapter. This story was originally supposed to be short, but has mutated, and I'm still not finished. I hope you enjoy, and that the clerk in the story's speech is recognisable as accented English. Thank you....




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Pain......darkness.....warm, brown eyes, shining as they looked at him....shining *for* him..... loss of warmth.....death.....coldness, confusion.....a return to pain and darkness......Phoebe.....



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The inside of the hotel was only marginally better than the expectations inspired by it's exterior. Someone had obviously tried to give the place an air of welcome, but with the strange atmosphere that seemed to drip from every wall, the Holden hotel still seemed as forbidding from the inside as it did from the out.

Scanning the area, Prue located the front desk -- or what presumadly *passed* for the hotel's front desk. She ran her fingers through her loose hair, tugging her shirt straight in the hopes of making the best possible impression. It never hurt to try.
Then she took a deep breath and walked towards the desk clerk.

Disinterested, dull grey eyes tracked her movements, watching as she stopped at the desk, and put on her brightest smile.

The clerk seemed to match the hotel, with limp, mousy brown hair that fell onto shoulders that were stooped -- though whether by age or by circumstance, Prue couldn't say. Perhaps both. The uniform the woman wore was ill-fitting, the waistcoat buttons straining to stay fastened. Thankfully, in Prue's oponion, the desk obscured the rest of the clerk from view.

"Hi," she greeted, her smile only faltering as she recieved no response. Wow, she mused. Tough crowd. Bet I can guess why business isn't exactly booming.

"Erm....I was wondering....ah, a friend of mine is staying here. Uh, and he's trying to stay low-profile. He's a....a lawyer," she sort of fibbed. "And.....he's working a case. A very, very important case. So, he could be under an assumed name, you see."

She paused, wondering if the woman was buying her quickly devised story. One look at the blank face opposite, made her wonder if the woman was even *listening.*

"Anyway....I have some....important documents.... in my car for him. If you could just.....check....see if he's there. Or I could....I mean, you could let me see your sign-in book." Please have a sign-in book, she silently pleaded. "I could --"

"Can't let'ya see the book," the clerk suddenly spoke, her flat voice jolting Prue a little. "Hotel policy. Can't let *anyone* see the book."

As Prue was trying to combat her shock of actually being *answered,* the clerk returned to a magazine that Prue hadn't noticed. It looked like a real trash rag, and an idea began to form in Prue's mind.

Heaving a deep sigh, she tried to look as resigned as possible. "Okay. You're obviously a very busy woman." She tried not to laugh at her own words. "But....and I *really* shouldn't be telling you this.....this lawyer? Well, I represent -- his wife. Yes, his wife. And.....well, she thinks that her husband may be having an affair. And - she hired me.....to find out." Cringing slightly at her own tale-telling abilities, Prue almost missed the slight spark that ignited in those dirty grey orbs.

"A cheater, ya say?" the clerk mused. Her voice had even changed a little, it's pitch slightly higher. "Mah first three husbands were cheaters....no good lying S.O.B's. Never did a Goddamn thing for me, or mah babies. Too busy out with their whores to care about us. So ah' had t' look for work. And what did ah' git outta it? Ah' got stuck here, in this rat hole, that's what. Tha' first one.....why, he were a real weasel. Got me pregnant and then took t' spending every penny o' his on any cheap tramp stupid enough t' look his way....."

Now Prue found herself cringing for another reason. She'd succeeded in getting the woman to talk. She just hadn't thought she'd be *this* successful....and on *this* topic. *Jerry Springer, here ah' come,* she thought.

"Now, tha' hubby number two.....he were worse! Ah' foun' out that it wasn't even the cheap whores that kept him happy......it was their boyfriends!Course, ah' had no idea that Billy Joe was *gay* when we were married! 'Cept.....there *was* that time ah' foun' him with my cousin.....Joe Bob. But they were drunk.....Least, that's wha' they told lil' ol' me. Then, there was mah' third husband --"

As her eyes slowly glazed over, Prue thought desperately to come up with a plan. Fire alarm? No. This place may not even *have* one, anyway. Power outage? Nope. Even if she managed to pull it off, everywhere would be dark. Not exactly conditions conducive to *finding* someone.
Frantically scanning the surrounding area, she searched for an opening. Wait a second --

"And thay're jus' mah' husbands. Billy Jack -- not to be confused with Billy Joe -- now, we never got married, but....it come close, ah' tell ya!"

Focusing completely and tuning out the clerk's voice, Prue concentrated on the store room she could see just behind the clerk's shoulder. The door was slightly open, allowing her a view of many shelves, each stacked high with objects of many descriptions. Narrowing her eyes, she pushed with her mind, her arm jerking forward involuntarily, and watched in satisfaction as the door opened a little further, and the crashing sounds from inside heralded the loss of several shelves as they collapsed.

Suppressing a smile, Prue watched as the clerk turned sharply mid-sentence, squawking loudly when she realised what had happened. As the woman scuttled forward, arms waving in agitation, Prue made sure her attention was well and truly away from her, and then rounded the desk, looking for some sort of log book for the guests staying at the hotel. While the clerk whined on about "Tha' boss," and, "Wha' he's gonna do t' me," Prue found what she was looking for. Scanning as quickly as she could, she grabbed a pen from the desk, and scribbled down on a piece of scrap she found in her purse any room number with a name that looked promising. There was a Ben, two Turners, and even a Cole, though Prue was fairly sure that it wasn't the half-demon she sought. Not knowing what she was going to do if none of these panned out, but knowing that time was of the essence, Prue decided to take her chances, and moved from around the table. Taking one last look at the still whining woman -- and, if she was going to be honest, congratulating herself on her control of her powers -- Prue found the stairs, taking them two at a time in order to hurry to the first room on her list.


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Some time later, Prue was strongly repressing the urge to bang her head against the nearest wall, settling instead for running her hands through her hair in agitation. She'd had no joy in her search for Cole, and was beginning to wonder if she hadn't guessed wrong. She was at the last possibility on her list, and all she could do was cross her fingers. But before she could locate the last one, a door opened suddenly to her left, startling Prue and jolting her out of her thoughts. She straightened up, turning to the source of the noise.

A young woman stood in the open doorway, clutching a squirming bundle to her chest as she glanced furtively about. She jumped violently as her eyes fell on Prue, and her arms tightened around her burden, which gave a loud squall as a result. Both Prue and the mystery woman dropped their eyes to the little noisemaker, the woman immediately shifting her grip, jiggling the -- baby? Prue thought, surprised -- and cooing at it until it's cries had quietened.

When she had calmed it down, she gentled her motions, before looking up at Prue. The Halliwell witch could tell the woman was clearly afraid, and she made an effort to put her at ease. "Hi," she greeted, hoping that her face reflected that she wasn't here to harm the woman in any way.
It seemed to work, for after a few more moments of studying Prue, the woman relaxed, though only slightly. Prue vaguely wondered if the woman should have been so trusting, given the fact that she was clearly in fear of something. But perhaps the woman just had good instincts.

"Hey," the woman said back, her voice quiet in the empty hallway. While her body had lost it's tense stance, the brown eyes were still cautious, though not afraid now. And for some reason, Prue felt it important to keep contact with this woman....could she be a potential innocent?

"Uh," she started. "Could I ask for your help for just one second?"

Seeing that she had the woman's attention, she continued. "My name is Prue, Prue Halliwell, and I'm looking for a friend of mine. I don't know what name he may have checked in under, and the clerk downstairs was less than helpful."

The woman seemed to relax a little more, her face lighting up into an amused grin. "Yeah....I got to hubby number three before I thought my head was going to explode."

Prue laughed. "I know. I felt like I was in an episode of Jerry Springer. Which was kinda funny, because my sister used to....."

She trailed off suddenly, and the flash of pain she felt was still a little unexpected. She really thought that she'd been dealing with Phoebe's death better recently.

The woman seemed to realize that she was thinking of something painful, and made a sympathetic face as her hand moved in instinctive comfort to Prue's arm, dropping as she caught the gesture and was unsure whether she should have made it. "Are....are you okay?" she said instead.

Prue nodded. "Yeah...I just...my sister died....last year. She used to tease me all the time, threatening to go on Springer whenever we had a spat......she said she'd air all of our family secrets on national t.v." She smiled slightly as she thought of what 'family secrets' Phoebe had meant, and saw the gesture reflected on the other woman's face.

"I'm sorry about your sister," she offered. "I don't have any family, but.....I can imagine what it's like."

"Thank you," Prue said sincerely. It looked like she had gotten her wish.....the two woman seemed to have bonded on some level. "I'm sorry.....I don't even know your name."

"Lindsay," the woman answered after a pause.

"Lindsay," Prue repeated. "Um....about my friend. You may have seen him....he's tall, dark hair, blue eyes....he likes to wear black."

She was heartened to see recognition dawn on the woman's -- no, *Lindsay's* -- face. "Yeah....well, I don't think there are many people staying here right now, and I've been keeping myself to myself, but....I have seen a guy matching your description....he came to my room a while ago, borrowed the first aid kit I had."

Prue mentally re-crossed her fingers. "Really? Do you know where I could find him?"

Lindsay nodded to the left. "There. He's next door I think. I er....I noticed him going in there not long after I came to stay." She blushed a little, ducking her head as she fidgeted with the baby's blanket. Judging by her embarrassment, Prue could guess just what she had *noticed* about the man.
Trying to prolong contact with Lindsay, Prue fished about for something to say. "Going somewhere?" she asked at last, indicating Lindsay's jacket and the baby's blanket. "Only it's getting pretty icky out there." Icky? she silently berated herself.

Lindsay looked down at herself. "Oh....yes....I have to use the phone. The ones here are crapped out, and....I have to call someone."

Prue had an idea."Hey, why don't you borrow my cell? I mean, it's getting kinda foul out there.....you don't want to drag a baby into that kind of weather."

Prue could see that Lindsay was tempted. "No, I...I couldn't. I mean, I have no problem paying for the call," she assured. "But it could take a while."

"Oh, well......you could keep hold of it. You know, I sense you're an honest person. I could.....come back for it later." And check up on you, she mentally added, wondering if she'd be able to pull this off.

Lindsay seemed to follow the same line of thought, and her expression suddenly became suspicious. "No...I couldn't."

Prue realized that she had to be honest if she wanted Lindsay's trust. "Look....I know that you don't know me from Adam. And you're obviously afraid of something, but....I'm not here to hurt you. I'd like to help, if I can. And if lending you my phone to save you a journey helps, well....it's the least I can do."

Lindsay seemed to consider this, and studied Prue once more, her gaze boring into Prue's as she tried to determine the strangers motives. What she saw there apparently reassured her. "Okay," she finally relented. "Thank you."

Prue just gave a nod, smiling a little as she looked through her bag, locating the much-discussed piece of technology. "Here," she offered, passing it to Lindsay.

"Thank you," Lindsay said again. "I, er....maybe, I could phone you....let you know when I'm done. You kinda remind me of someone I know, and - I -- I feel like I've made a new friend. And not to sound too self-pitying, but....I could use all the friends I can get right now."

Prue nodded again. "Me too. And here," she rummaged through her purse again, finding one of her business cards, along with one of Piper's, with the number for P3 on it. "This is my number." Taking out a pen, she hastily scribbled the Manor number on the back of her business card. "My home phone's on the back. And the other one's my sisters number, for the club she runs. Just ask for me, if the others don't work." Once again, Prue wondered why she thought she could trust this woman....and decided to go with the same sense that had been driving her since she'd made contact with her.

She gave Lindsay one last smile, knowing that the other woman wanted a little time to digest this strange meeting. "'Bye."

"Goodbye," Lindsay said, nodding to Prue and moving back through the doorway, and gently closing the door behind her.

Standing alone in the empty hallway, Prue gave another sigh, this one of uncertainty. Although Phoebe had often grumbled that her gift of visions wasn't an 'active' power, it had really come in handy during the past. Now they stumbled along without it, and Prue couldn't help but wish for the ability to 'see' things as Phoebe had, sometimes even glimpsing a persons true nature, with nothing but a touch.
It would certainly make these 'leaps of faith' unnecessary.


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~

"I'm telling you, Prue, this is it! This is the one."

"Phoebe, you can't be sure of that."

Heaving a sigh at her eldest sister, Phoebe flopped bonelessly onto the nearest flat surface. "C'mon, Prue....haven't you ever just felt something, deep down inside, right in your gut.....and you can't explain it, but you know you should follow it?"

Prue looked to Piper for help that was not forthcoming before turning her attention to the youngest. "Yes....of course I have. But that doesn't mean that I act on it....and that does *not* mean we should act on it now. Phoebe, we haven't been the Charmed ones for long enough, we can't risk going with gut feelings when we don't know enough about magic and the evil we're supposed to protect against."

Meanwhile, Piper just shook her head. This was just a new variation on an argument that had been taking place between her sisters ever since they had come into their magic, only months ago. They were slowly learning, and had already saved several innocents, but differences of opinion on how exactly to go about it, were likely to prevent more.

"I understand what you're saying, Prue.....but when I look in the Book Of Shadows, and we compare the M.O of the demon with the descriptions listed, I get a feeling that this is the guy -- er, *thing* -- we've been looking for."

Slamming her hand down in emphasis of her point, her palm landed squarely on the page in the book that held the picture and information on the demon she had been trying so hard to convince Prue was the culprit. For Phoebe it was instantaneous. One second she was sitting in the attic of the Manor, watching Prue's expression of exasperation grow. The next thing she knew, she was watching the big hulk of monster she had indicated, doing exactly what she had accused him of doing.


It had only taken seconds, but it still felt like a lifetime for the youngest Halliwell. As the victim's screams of pain and terror faded from her mind, Phoebe slowly prised her eyes open. Prue's look of exasperation had been replaced by concern, and she'd been joined by Piper, as they both looked down at her in concern.

"Pheebs?" Piper asked.

Taking a deep breath, she deliberately relaxed her shoulders from their tense hunch, licking her dry lips. "Er....it's not gut instinct anymore, guys. It's true. I saw him -- it. Killing someone."

"Who?" Prue asked, her face now settling into a mask of grim determination.

"I didn't see who......just that it was a woman. Long, auburn hair. Like I said, I didn't get a look at her face, but she was wearing....a black mini-skirt. Boots with heels *I* would have trouble walking in. And....a dark, sleeveless top. Her arms were bare, and I saw a tattoo. It was.....an animal.....a tiger, I think."

"Did you see where?" Piper inquired gently, seeing the slight tremors that were still coursing through Phoebe's frame.

"Yeah, it looked like an alleyway. There was....a huge, neon sign. I think it was the alley behind that club in town. I went there, not long after I came back from New York, remember?"

Prue certainly did. And she doubted if she'd be forgetting it soon. Phoebe had stumbled back at four in the morning, and since she'd forgotten her key, her inebriated mind had thought the concept of breaking and entering a good idea. Until Prue and Piper had crept down the stairs, baseball bats added to their powers, and the police already discreetly called and on their way. No, she wouldn't be misplacing *that* memory.

She realized that she'd been staring at Phoebe, and blinked rapidly as she turned away, only to see Piper giving her a suspicious look.
"What?"

"Nothing," Piper assured her. "Uh....I'm gonna take the book....downstairs. See if I can come up with a potion." Before Prue could speak, Piper had gathered up the heavy book in her arms, giving her two siblings one last look, before hurrying to the stairs.

"Okay.....that was weird," Phoebe commented, her gaze still on the open doorway that Piper had just exited.

"Not really," Prue sighed. She had guessed Piper's reason for retreat. "She's probably just giving us space."

"For what?"

"For me to say something about not trusting your instincts."

"Prue, there's nothing to say."

"Yes, there is --"

"No, Prue," Phoebe said earnestly. "I shouldn't have expected you to take it on faith like that."

Thinking that Phoebe was referring to their less than stellar history, Prue hurried to reassure her. "No, Pheebs --"

"Oh, no, Prue. I'm not talking about our wonderful past of arguments and failures. I'm .....I'm talking about you."

"What do you mean?"

Phoebe bit her bottom lip, wondering how to phrase this. "Let's face it Prue......following your gut, taking that leap without proof.....it's just not you."

Prue felt a bit stung, and it must have shown on her face as Phoebe rushed to speak. "Now, that's not a bad thing. It just means that you have to be very logical about it all.....make sure you have all the facts before making a decision." Her head bowed. "Unlike me, who just rushes in there."

Now Prue was reassuring Phoebe. "Hey, you were right this time," she reminded her baby sister.

Phoebe looked up, meeting Prue's eyes. "Yeah.....but I could've been wrong."

Moving over to her sister, and squeezing into the space next to her on the trunk she was sitting on, Prue wrapped her arm around the other woman. "Tell you what, then. In future.....if you try and be a little more logical....and a little less impulsive....I'll try going with with my gut feeling more. How about that?"

Phoebe broke out in a grin, ducking her head again to hide it. "Exactly what I was thinking." Even though Prue couldn't see Phoebe's face, she thought that her sister had an air of self-satisfaction. Wait, what had she said? 'Exactly what I was thinking?' Suddenly, Prue began to feel a tad manipululated. But Phoebe wouldn't do that....would she?

As if reading Prue's thoughts, Phoebe gave her another grin, standing quickly. "I'm gonna go help Piper.....see you downstairs." And another Halliwell beat a hasty retreat, leaving Prue to sit alone, thinking over the conversation. Oh, her little sister definitely *would* she decided.

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Now standing in front of the dark blue door to the left of Lindsay's, it's paint cracked and peeling like the rest of the hotel, Prue remembered back to that time with Phoebe, wondering now if she had the courage to follow Phoebe's advice. To push on, going with the strange feeling she had inside, that this was *right.* Not just that, but that it was *imperative*she found Cole now, and that this was the place to find him.

Thinking back to the way Phoebe had lived her life, how she had been a true force of nature, going with what felt natural to her -- goodness, justice, *light* -- Prue found that she *did* have the strength. After all......that was what she'd done with Lindsay, right?

Cautiously moving forward, Prue debated whether or not to knock. She knew that they had to be careful, for there were demons that were not just gunning for the Charmed ones.....Cole was high on the hit list too.
If Cole was indeed here, there was no telling if he was alone......or if the half-demon would be anticipating such a 'visit,' his powers ready.

Making her decision, she pushed on, resolving to be as alert and ready as she could. She reached for the door knob, about to breech the lock with her powers, when a noise stopped her in her tracks. Tilting her ear closer to the door, Prue struggled to make out it out. There! She heard it again, and tried to identify the noise. It sounded like.....groaning? Yes....someone was groaning, seemingly in pain.
The tones were deep, masculine......a man --

Quickly making the choice, Prue pushed with her powers, the door flying open with the force of her mental push. Hurrying forward, she surveyed the space.

The room had little in the way of furniture, a bed, bedside cabinet, a dresser and a wardrobe. Near her feet, a dark shirt had been discarded. As she knelt to get a better look, she realised that it was the same one Cole had been wearing when he visited the Manor earlier. But before she could dwell on it further, the noise came again, drawing her attention to the other side of the bed. She quickly rounded it, staring down at the figure laying prone on the floor. "Cole?"

Dropping to her knees, she felt for a pulse. It beat rapidly against her probing fingers, but she couldn't tell if that was a result of the injury that was obviously hidden under the bandage taped to his skin, or just a natural biological state for a half-demon. Turning her attention to the unconscious man's bare torso, she followed the jagged black streaks upwards as they disappeared under the bandage, to the wound on his shoulder. Ripping away the covering, Prue winced at the injury, strangely certain that the dark-tinged flesh and angry looking infection were a result of poisoning. And a fast acting one at that.

She noticed the open first aid kit lying on the floor near Cole and quickly grabbed it, rumaging through it's contents to find something to rouse him with. Locating something that looked like smelling salts, she opened the bottle and waved it under Cole's nose, hoping that this would wake him up.

After a moment or two, his head began to move, his face contorting at the odour. He woke with a start, and Prue could see his eyes were unfocused.

"Phoebe?" he whispered.

Prue bit her lip, unsure of how to react. "No, er....no, Cole, it's me....Prue."

He didn't seem to hear her, his head moving restlessly once move, as his gaze fixed on a point directly behind Prue's shoulder. "Phoebe?"

She felt a chill go through her body at the absolute certainty in his voice, and she turned to look despite herself. There was nothing there, and she had known that. So why did she feel disappointed?

Concentrating again on the sick man, she tried to get him to listen. "Cole? C'mon, work with me here. I need you to focus. What happened?"

"Phoe......Phoebe....." he murmured again, his eyes drifting closed. Cursing, Prue tried to wake him once more.

"Cole.....Cole! Dammit," she swore, her head rolling back on her shoulders until she was looking at the ceiling. "Leo! Leo!"



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Relaxing into Leo's embrace, Piper let out a long breath, watching as her breath steamed up the window in front of her.

"What's wrong?" her husband asked gently.

Piper gave a grim smile. "What, you mean aside from the fact that our free time was interrupted half way through....again?"

Leo's arms tightened around her waist, pulling her back further into his chest, and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Well, look at it this way. At least it was just work as opposed to the *other work.*"

His wife frowned. "Okay, that's one way to put it. What you mean is, that I should be grateful it's a run-of-the-mill problem at the club, as opposed to a supernatural one."

"Not grateful.....but I must admit, it's a bit of a relief for me. I mean, how much trouble can you get into at the club?"

Piper turned in his arms, the raised eyebrow and look of disbelief on her face answer enough.

"Alright," he relented. "So you can get into trouble enough at the club. But they need you....right?"

She nodded, resting her head on Leo's strong chest. Her hands came up as well, and she lay them either side of her face. Feeling the beat of his heart strongly thumping under her palm and cheek, suddenly, she didn't care. "You know what? Forget it."

"What?"

Lifting her head, she looked into his eyes. "They can do without me for a while. I mean, that *is* what I pay them for. If there's one thing this past year has taught me, it's to take your moments when you can get them." Flexing her fingers onto the muscles that were beneath them, she gave him what she hoped was her sexiest look. "So.....what do you say, we go back to bed? Hmm?"

She could feel the vibration rumbling through his chest as he laughed, but as he opened his mouth to speak, his gaze strayed upwards, his eyes searching.

"What?" Piper couldn't believe it. She had finally decided to put herself and Leo first, and the damn Elders wanted him.

"It's Prue," he reported.

"What?!" Piper asked again, all irritation gone from her voice as fear replaced it. "What's wrong? Is she okay? Tell me Leo!"

He listened a second longer. "I have to go. Piper, I don't think she's hurt, but I'm going to go check. You wait here for us."

"No, I have to go to Prue."

"Piper --"

"Leo, she's my *sister.*"

"Yes, and I know for a fact that if she *is* in danger, she doesn't want you in danger, too. I'll bring her back, Piper."

"Promise?" she asked in a small voice.

"I promise," he said, giving her a kiss before he stepped away from her, his body disolving into glowing lights, as he orbed away.

Left alone in her bedroom, Piper slowly sank to the floor, curling her body up as she had when she was a small child, scared without her sisters and grandmother there with her. As visions from the horrible day that Phoebe had died ran through her mind, they were joined with images of all the close calls the sisters had had over the years, and Piper felt her eyes sting, the objects in her room blurring as the moisture filled them. "Please be okay.....please be ......you promised....." She trailed off as the fear and grief of the past year seemed to catch up with her, and she began to cry.


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