A/N: Clairebear21 and ProtectionPaige, thank you for reviewing. Ah, Cole. He will be causing a lot of tension between Phoebe and Prue. But I will not be turning him evil.

"Whoa. Hold on. Just stop. That dude is Belthazor? Shouldn't he look more like a, well, demon?" He didn't look anything like the picture.

He's half demon, half human.

"Interesting. Is he evil?"

He was at first. Then he fell in love with Phoebe.

"Demons can fall in love?"

They can if they're half human.

"Ah. That whole half demon thing is still kind of iffy."

Which is exactly what I reacted the way I did.

She turned her attention away from me and back to Phoebe and Belthazor. "And what do you mean, his demon side is gone?"

"Belthazor was vanquished when we faced a demon by the name of Sikes." She didn't meet Prue's eyes, though.

"What else are you not telling me?"

"I'm telling you everything, Prue."

"Like hell you are."

"Prue, maybe you should take a deep breath or something."

She didn't bother to answer. She was concentrating completely on Phoebe. No wonder she had chosen to leave out this part of Phoebe's history. She really hated this guy. She wouldn't even address him directly. That was understandable, considering the fact that he apparently used to be a demon. So Phoebe had dated a demon, a creature that they were supposed to fight against. Her anger was justified.

However, I found that a little pity for Phoebe was sneaking in. It must have been hard on her. She couldn't control who she loved, and the fact that she was supposed to hate him must have complicated things. Then again, what if she had done this just to spite Prue? She certainly had done enough against Prue when they were younger. But that was the thing - they had been younger then.

How could I be considering all this? I didn't know these people. I had to stay neutral. But I didn't like being neutral. I usually had strong view that I maintained no matter what. I really wanted to side with one of them, but it wasn't my place. No, I couldn't tell them what to do. I couldn't mediate either. It seemed that Prue would definitely not allow me to be in control while Phoebe was around now. Well, at least she would get some time with her sisters. So there was an up side to this debate. Nonetheless, there was still the fact that Prue was pissed off. That wasn't good for anyone, especially Phoebe. This was, without a doubt, going to affect my health.

The fury suddenly settled to an even pulse of anger. That was good… right? Why had it stopped? What was going on? I carefully examined her emotions. There was that overwhelming anger, but there was something else. Was it distrust? Yes, there was a little of that, but that wasn't what was calming the rage. Wait, was she dying? No, she was just looking at Phoebe. She was looking at her - no, her hand - very closely. There was a ring on Phoebe's hand. But that wasn't just any ring. That was an… engagement ring. It couldn't possibly be anything else. Oh God. The mysterious feeling was shock. Horror. Absolute horror! She wasn't calming down; she was getting ready to come down on Phoebe even more. Now she was trying to comprehend what she was seeing. Once it hit her fully… Well, I didn't want to be Phoebe once she realized it.

Phoebe saw her looking and casually put her hand behind her back. This set Prue off. And, oh, she went off. Like a bomb, in fact. Maybe if they had had Prue as a cop, there would be no crime. I highly doubted that anyone, anywhere would want to face Prue when she got really angry. I would have shielded my eyes, or ran away, but I could do neither. I had to watch, no matter how terrifying Prue truly got.

"Oh, no you don't!" she cried and grabbed Phoebe's hand. That ring stood out, taunting her. "No. You didn't." Her mouth hung open. "You couldn't have." Her voice was low now, but it was steadily increasing. She took a deep breath. How loud could she yell? "YOU – YOU GOT ENGAGED?" She could yell that loudly. She gave a whole new meaning to the Richter scale. "TO HIM? YOU GOT ENGAGED TO A DEMON!"

"He's not a demon anymore," Phoebe said desperately.

"I am so sure." Half of the things in the attic rose up and fell to the ground. Prue paid no attention to that. Her focus was locked on Phoebe and that hateful ring. I rather believed that she hated the ring more than she hated the man who gave it. What was his name? Prue hadn't even bothered to name him, or even recognize that he was standing right there. If he were a demon, wouldn't he stand up to Prue or something? Maybe Phoebe was telling the truth. I wasn't going to tell that to Prue, however. She was terrifying right at that moment.

Though I didn't have the courage necessary to calm Prue, Piper did. She stepped between the feuding sisters and pried Prue's hand off of Phoebe's hand. Phoebe looked grateful. Prue was not. "Stop," Piper said. "What are you doing, Prue?"

"I'm doing what has to be done."

"Phoebe is telling the truth. Belthazor is not a part of Cole anymore. You have to accept that."

Prue stared at Piper, but the stare was softer than the one she had used on Phoebe.

"Please, Prue."

"Fine. I'll accept that Cole isn't Belthazor, but I will not allow Phoebe to marry him, and I will not believe that he's good."

"Don't do this," Piper pleaded.

"Don't do what?"

"Don't push Phoebe away. You two have got to work this out."

"But not now. Now, it's time for Cole to leave."

"Prue," Phoebe started.

"It's all right, Phoebe," Cole said. They kissed. Piper held Prue back and Cole left.

"What is wrong with you, Prue?" Phoebe snarled. "He didn't do anything to you."

"I can't trust him. And I don't want to see you dead."

"He loves me. He wouldn't hurt me."

"He may say that, but he doesn't mean it."

"Yes, he does. Why can't you believe it?"

"Because he was a demon. He could embrace evil again. Then where would you be? Do you even know?"

"He wouldn't do that."

"You have no way of knowing that."

"For God's sake, would you two cut it out?" Piper interrupted. "Prue, you've only been back for two days. Can't you two stop fighting? We've been given a new chance."

"Piper, that doesn't change anything. We still have to work these things out," said Prue.

"But you're not even hearing Phoebe. We should all calm down before we say things that we don't mean."

"I mean all these things because they're true. I care about you, Phoebe."

"If you cared about me, you would trust what I tell you."

"I can't," she said simply.

"Fine." She walked out.

Was that how sisters were? Perhaps it was better to be an only child. Phoebe and Prue could create a tempest. Piper was the third party in all that. Where was Paige?

Huh. She was gone.

"Prue, have you ever tried meditation? Or yoga?" I asked her the next morning.

"No."

She was still in ill humor. "Did you have high blood pressure?"

"Who doesn't these days?"

"I'd wager that Piper doesn't. She's so calm."

"She's the middle sister. That's how it's always been. But there are some things that can get her worked up."

"If she's anything like you at those times, I would love to never see her like that."

"I wasn't that bad, was I?"

"Are you kidding? You're still angry. Maybe you should talk to Phoebe. But you have to have Leo there."

"Leo? Why?"

"Well, if you two happen to try to tear out each other's hair, he'll be able to fix you right up. Plus, he can't become a causality."

She laughed. It was a small laugh, but it was something.

"That's better. Do you feel calmer?"

"For now."

"Then when you see Phoebe, you'll blow your top again, right?"

"I'll try to control myself."

"I don't see what the big deal is. Cole's a human now. Can he really become evil again?"

"Yes."

"Well, if he does, you can just vanquish him. Easy enough."

I could sense that she wanted to argue, but she was sick of arguing.

I picked up two shirts and turned to the mirror. "Hmm. Green or blue?" I switched off, trying to see which one would look best. "You look good in blue," I decided.

"You're the only one who will see how I look in this."

"I know. I look pretty good in blue too, though I think I'm starting to forget what I look like."

"Is that even possible?"

I rolled my eyes. "It was a joke, Prue."

"Oh."

"Did you ever enjoy yourself when you were in your own body?"

"Yes. But there were times to be serious."

"And that time was basically all your life. Did you sacrifice everything for the Power of Three?"

"More or less."

"Depressing. I couldn't stand to live like that."

"I got used to it."

"But you shouldn't have been forced to do that."

"Tell that to the forces of destiny."

"If I ever meet destiny, I'll be sure to mention that. Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"Ready to face Phoebe. Before you say anything to her, run it by me. Then you'll hear what it sounds like and you won't have to regret what you say."

"Regrets are a waste of time."

"But they still happen. Maybe you don't regret it now, but you'll regret it later."

"I doubt that."

"Okay. Do you like disagreeing all the time?"

"I don't disagree all the time."

"Maybe I should use reverse psychology on you."

"Thanks for the warning."

"Huh. That's a start."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you didn't argue. You were almost humorous. That's a definite start. You're calm?"

"I'm calm."

"Good." I went down to the kitchen. Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Leo were there. "Morning." I was starting to get more comfortable with them.

Phoebe eyed me warily.

"Don't worry," I reassured her. "It's not Prue."

"You didn't have to warn her."

Hey, I thought you were calm. Count to ten and don't think about yesterday.

I knew that there would be more problems involving Cole and Phoebe. Prue was stubborn, and so was Phoebe. It would take a miracle to get them to work out their differences. Prue had already received one miracle. Could she get another? She certainly deserved it, now more than ever.

"We should probably look in the Book today since we didn't get a chance yesterday," Piper said.

Wrong thing to say. Prue's anger flared up a little.

Calm.

"I'm fine."

"But I don't think that there's going to be anything in it that could help us. Still, it's worth a look."

"Can't I just talk with Phoebe really quickly?"

No.

"Maybe we could try to determine who caused this to happen," Paige said. "There might be a spell that could help with that."

I think that's the most she's said since I got here.

"It's because of me."

Don't be silly, Prue.

"She's intimidated by me."

With that display yesterday, I wouldn't be surprised.

"That's a good idea. We'll-" Phoebe suddenly gasped and closed her eyes. For some reason, I did the same. I saw myself standing before the Elders.

"You must undergo the test," vision Gideon said and sent me to dark room. My own scream was the last thing I heard.

"Now that's the most realistic daydream ever," I muttered.

"Did you… Did you see something?" Phoebe asked.

"Um… yeah. It happened really quickly."

The sisters exchanged looks.

"What did you see?" Leo asked.

"Well, I saw myself facing the Elders. Gideon told me that I had to-"

"Undergo a test," Phoebe finished. "Then he sent you-"

"To a dark room. And then I heard-"

"Yourself screaming."

"Yeah. You saw that too?"

She nodded numbly. "Leo, what does this mean?"

"I don't know. But I should go tell Gideon."

Prue took control. "You can't do that, Leo."

"Why?"

"Christy and I both felt this threatening feel from him. I don't think that any of us should face Gideon. Stay away from him."

"Gideon isn't a threat. He's a close friend of mine. He's the one who allowed Piper and I to get married."

"Regardless, we both felt it. There's something about Gideon. If an innocent can feel it-"

"I don't think Christy's an innocent," Leo interrupted. "She saw Phoebe's vision."

"However, it's still significant. We need to check Gideon out before you go to him."

"All right. I'll make sure that he hasn't taken a different turn." He orbed out.

"Phoebe, you could learn a lot from the attitude Leo has," Prue said as she looked at Phoebe from the corner of her eye.

"Can we not get into that?" Piper said.

"Look, Prue, just get it out. Admit it," said Phoebe.

"Admit what?"

"That you hate him! This isn't about him being evil. This is about the fact that you hate him."

"Phoebe-"

"No! I don't want to hear it." She stormed out.

Piper sighed. "I'll go talk to her."

The two estranged sisters were left together. Maybe they'll make some progress now.

"What's your view on all this?" Prue asked Paige.

"What are you doing? You can't put that kind of pressure on her. That's totally unfair," I protested.

But Paige responded easily. "I don't trust Cole at all. Once a demon, always a demon."

"That's exactly how I feel. He killed in the past. He wanted to kill Phoebe."

"And now she's engaged to him. It doesn't make sense."

"But if he's trying to trick her, then it would make perfect sense."

"That's why I think Phoebe should at least cast a truth spell on him," Paige said. She seemed excited to have someone who agreed with her.

"But she won't hear of it, will she?"

"She won't even discuss it. She thinks that it will devalue their relationship."

"It's a relationship based on random passion," Prue said. "She wants him because she shouldn't have him. It's so Phoebe. She was a rebel in high school, she's a rebel now."

Paige looked surprised. "Phoebe was a rebel in high school?"

"Yeah. She used to hang out with the bad boy crew. She would do anything to piss Grams off."

"That would explain the Cole situation. But other than that, I wouldn't have expected that. Phoebe is pretty responsible in the other areas of her life."

"Well, at least she maintains that. We all changed a lot after Phoebe read that incantation."

"Yeah, I can understand that. When I suddenly got my powers and had to…"

"Replace me?"

"No, I-I never wanted to replace you," Paige said, stuttering slightly. "But all along, I've been trying to live up to you."

"How could you do that when you had never even met me?"

"I've been trying to be superwitch."

"Oh? And how has that been going?"

Paige smiled a little. "Not so good. I had a little trouble with personal gain and consequences."

"I've been there."

They were bonding. This was incredible. I couldn't believe that Paige was talking with Prue so easily. Before, she had been so closed up. Maybe that had been because of Piper and Phoebe. Maybe she felt she could speak more freely now. Whatever it was, it was working wonderfully. I was really hoping that nothing would break up this moment, because that would be a terrible shame.

"So exactly how did you find out?" Prue asked.

"Well, I saw your obituary in the newspaper, and I was drawn to you. I can't explain it."

"You don't have to. It's the bond that sisters share."

"I went to your funeral, and there I met Phoebe. Phoebe had a premonition about Shax coming after me. It was pretty powerful. In the confusion, I left. That night, Shax attacked me and my boyfriend, and somehow I orbed. We went through this whole chase, and I got away. Piper summoned Grams to find out about me, and mom appeared. She told Piper and Phoebe the whole story. I came here, and we vanquished Shax together. I… well, I got freaked out and left."

"Perfectly understandable."

She started to go on, but Leo orbed in.

"Leo, they're bonding. Shoo, shoo!" Prue didn't relay the message.

"What's up?"

"The Elders want to see Christina."

"Again?" I groaned.

"Where are Phoebe and Piper?" Leo continued.

"Don't ask," Paige said. "Do they just want Christina?"

He nodded. "That's what they say."

"But what about Gideon?" Prue said.

"The other Elders are there. If you really need me, just call."

"Prue, I don't want to go up there with Gideon. After what I saw…"

Don't worry. If anyone tries anything, I can use my telekinesis.

He orbed us back to the heavens, then left. We were back in the same room. The same Elders were there.

"What do you want?" Prue asked curtly.

"We wish to speak to Christina, Prudence," said Gideon.

She gave him a look and allowed me to come forward. I swallowed hard as I faced them, keeping my eyes trained on Gideon.

"Leo has informed us that you channeled Phoebe's vision."

I shrugged. "I guess."

"Yet you have no relation to a witch."

"Maybe it's just Prue."

"Prue wouldn't gain any new powers within your body."

"Oh… okay."

"You may be a natural born witch. It's very rare, but it does happen. We'd like to see if you do have powers. You must undergo a test."

No way. "Uh, you know, that really doesn't sound good to me. Maybe some other time." I searched for an exit. There was none. My heart pounded in my chest. I was certain that the Elders could hear it. "Or maybe I could stick around and check out this test." I smiled weakly. Any way to get out of here, Prue?

"No. Do you want me to take over?"

Not right now. Gideon waved his hand, and I was in the dark room. I tried to keep my breathing even. Something was going to get me. I felt like I was going to pass out from the fear. My mind was racing, as was my heart. Suddenly, someone grabbed me. I shrieked, whirled around, and fell to the ground. "Leo! Leo!"

"Christina, it's all right. It's me," Leo said.

"You scared the hell out of me." I got up. "Why is it so dark in here?"

"You have to react using your powers, not your senses. I can't believe that Gideon would put you here."

"Believe it. Is it really you?"

"Yes."

"How can I know that? Maybe this is a part of this stupid test."

Leo sighed and orbed. The temporary light showed that it was him.

"Okay, it's really you. What are you doing here? I thought you trusted Gideon."

"I felt you panicking."

"You felt me?"

"Yeah. That's another thing I don't understand. I can only feel my charges."

"Prue's your charge."

"But your emotions are separate."

"You know which one of us is feeling what?"

"Yes."

"Funky. How do we get out of here?"

"You can only get out by using your powers."

"Can't you just orb me?"

"No. You have to use your powers to be released. That's why I'm so surprised that he would do this."

"I'm not a witch or half-whitelighter. Why are the Elders so obsessed with this?"

"It would help if you were a witch."

"But I'm not. I'm never getting out of here. I just wanted to help Prue. Why can't they leave me alone?" Frustration took over. I wanted to get out. I wanted to get at those Elders and yell my lungs out. I had to get out. I want out. I want out!

The sensation that came along with orbing came over me. Leo was orbing me, but why? He had told me that he couldn't get me out. I appeared in the Elders' room. "Leo?" I looked to him, but he wasn't there. Moments later, he orbed into the room.

"Christina, you have the ability to orb. Congratulations," Gideon said.