A/N: This is a play on the phrase, "like a needle in a haystack". RJF: Well, I would hope that the finale would be explosive:) money makes me smile: Well, they needed some major romance in their lives. I feel bad for neglecting their relationship, so I had to make up for it big time! Prince Halliwell: Me either! LOL I'm so proud of the finale and I hope everyone else will be happy with it too! peanut2lb: Hmm, another Prue/Andy baby, huh? Egh...I'll put it to a vote and if enough people want another Prue/Andy baby, I'll try my hardest to work something out, ok? (I hope FFN allows you to post another EC chapter soon! I can't wait!) The-Cheese-Fairy: Hmm, Peanut asked that too. I'll think about it. About the exposure, Leo dusted everyone in the last chapter. Piper was telling Paige that at the beginning of chapter 37 in the line, "'Yeah.' Piper said. 'Leo's done dusting everyone from the reunion, so they don't remember a thing.'" Hmm, I think I lost like half my reviews last chapter. I hope everyone didn't think it was that terrible!
The Children Of Light
Chapter 38: Like A Soul In A Halliwellstack
"Ow!" Prue cringed, as a needle stabbed her in the leg.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Miss Halliwell!" A woman quickly apologized. She was kneeling behind Prue, fiddling with Prue's new wedding dress, trying to size it for her.
Prue threw her arms into the air. "I'm sorry, but can we reschedule? This is...this is just too much!"
The woman nodded, backing away from the distraught witch. "Sure, Miss Halliwell."
"Ms. Halliwell." Prue corrected, irritated.
"I'm sorry."
"Just-just..." Prue flicked her gaze to the door.
"Right. Again, I'm so sorry!" The woman said, before fleeding the room, just as Piper walked in.
"Prue?"
"Piper! Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" Prue sighed, stepping off the stand and running into her little sister's arms. "Everything is wrong! All wrong!"
"Prue.." Piper said, rubbing her elder sister's back. "Shh. Why don't you just go get some chamomile tea and let your sisters work out the details."
"But.."
"Don't you trust us?" Piper asked, flashing her set of pearly whites at Prue.
Prue sighed. "Oh oh..okay."
Piper patted Prue's arm. "Don't worry, we'll fix everything. Just go lie down."
"Yeah, yeah. Just don't try to push that chamomile tea stuff on me."
"What?" Piper asked, confused.
Flashback
Phoebe is standing at the counter, talking to a pharmacist.
The pharmacist smiles. "I'll be right back with your prescription."
"Take your time."
Prue walks up to the counter. "Excuse me, where do you keep the aspirin?"
The pharmacist nods. "Aisle three." He walks back into the pharmacy.
Prue and Phoebe begin walking towards aisle 3.
"Chamomile tea works great for headaches."
Prue frowns. "Not for this one it won't." She wanders up the aisle, with Phoebe at her heels.
"You know I'm not afraid of our powers. I mean, everyone inherits something from their family, right?"
"Yeah, money, antiques, a strong disposition. That's what normal people inherit."
"Who wants to be normal when we can be special?"
"I want to be normal, I want my life to be...you know, isn't this aisle three?" Prue stops, looking around.
"Well, we can't change what happened. We can't undo our destiny."
"Do you see any aspirin?"
"I see chamomile tea."
Prue looks even more frusterated. "Look, I have just found out that I'm a witch, that my sisters are witches, and that we have powers that will apparently unleash all forms of evil. Evil that is apparently going to come looking for us. So excuse me Phoebe, but I'm not exactly in a homeopathic mood right now!"
Flashback
Prue shakes her head, looking at Piper.
"Prue?"
"Nothing." Prue rubs her head. "I'm gonna go now."
"Good idea." Piper said. "Meet you back at the Manor?"
"Yeah." Prue said, walking off towards the dressing rooms, to change out of her still unfinished dress.
Paige waves her hand, orbing a bit of salt into a pot of boiling water.
"Personal gain!" Phoebe scolds, as she walks into the room.
"It's for Prue, so it doesn't count." Paige says, not looking up. "Besides, it's not like you haven't done it before." She winks at Phoebe. "I've heard the stories. How did Prue put it again? Uhm...Oh yes! 'Little Miss Spell-Of-The-Week.'"
Phoebe blinks.
Flashback
Phoebe looks at Piper. "Piper, we both know the only reason I like Leo is because you do. Okay, I have no idea why I just said that." She turns to face her eldest sister. "What's going on?"
"Uh...okay, I'm late for work, busy, gotta go."Pruestands up and heads out the kitchen.
"Prue!"
Piper and Phoebe follow Prue out of the kitchen.
"Yeah?" Prue asks, nervously.
Phoebe gives her sister a quizzical look. "Spill. What's up?"
Prue looks nervous. "I cast a truth spell."
"What!" Piper and Phoebe yell, in unison.
"You cast a truth spell?"
"Yes, so please no more questions."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to know what Andy would think of me if he knew I was a witch."
Piper looks a bit more understanding. "Oh."
Phoebe's eyesglitter up. "I can't believe it!"
Prue eyes her baby sister. "Look who's talking, Little Miss Spell-Of-The-Week."
"No, no. I mean it can't believe you actually took my advice. The biggest pooper at the Wicca party has finally used her power for personal gain. About time." Phoebe smirks.
Flashback
"Phoebe?" Paige asks, waving a hand in front of her sister.
"Huh?"
Phoebe shakes her head.
"Premonition?"
"Me? Oh, no! No, no, no. I was just thinking...Did she also tell you that she called me that, after casting her first personal gain spell?"
"What?" Paige asked, curiously.
"Oh yeah, you've still got so much to learn, young grasshopper!"
"Thanks." Andy said, slapping the bill on the counter. "Keep the change."
"Good mood?" Darryl smiled, as he and his partner left the dry cleaning facility.
"Very." Andy spoke, thinking of the wedding ahead. "I just can't believe the day's finally come."
"Slow down, man. You've still got a night left, before you've lost all your freedom."
Andy slightly jabbed Darryl. "Come on, Prue's not that bad."
Darryl rolled his eyes. "She a woman, right?" He unlocked the car and got into the driver's seat, then slapped the button, unlocking the rest of the car.
"Come on, Morris." Andy said, getting into the car.
"Hey, it's your funeral Trudeau,not mine." Darryl replied, starting the car.
Flashback
Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Darryl are at the cemetery; they're all standing around Andy's coffin. Prue walks over to the coffin and gently lays a rose atop the coffin.
Flashback
"Man, I'm sorry." Darryl quickly said, remembering the awful day that he'd actually attended Andy's funeral.
Andy shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I know what you meant."
"We're cool?"
"Cool as ice." Andy replied, as Darryl pulled onto the road.
Glenn glanced down at his watch. "Leo, have you called back to confirm the reservations for the room?"
Leo nodded. He, Glenn, Cole, Darryl, and Victorwere throwing a bachelor party for Andy. "It's all taken care of."
"Food, too?" Cole asked, looking up from his checklist.
"Yep." Victor replied, walking into the family room of The Villa.
"And Darryl's gonna keep Andy away until four?" Leo asked.
"That's the plan." Glenn said, grabbing the checklist from Cole.
"Hey." Cole grumbled. "What's the deal?"
Glenn raised a brow. "Did your wife make this for you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cole asked, defensively.
"It means, only women make checklists." Victor quipped.
"Thank you, Mr. Bennett." Glenn said, rolling his eyes. "We need to get rid of this."
"You of all people.." Leo sighed, pulling a box of matches from the table. "Man, I thought you were stronger than that."
"Leo, don't even go there." Cole said, holding up his hand, in a threatening way.
"Hey, fire away." Leo egged on. "You can't kill me, I'm a whitelighter, remember?"
Victor nudged Leo's arm. "Hey, not all of us are whitelighters, remember?"
Leo rolled his eyes, striking the match and lighting the checklist on fire, until it had burned into a pile of ashes.
"Man, Phoebe's gonna kill me." Cole muttered, staring at the black spot on the light colored carpet.
"Demon." Leo, Glenn, and Victor replied in unison.
"You expect me to lie to Phoebe?" Cole asked, incredulously.
"Well, you did a pretty good job of it, before she knew who you really were." Victor offered.
"Good point." Cole nodded, rubbing his chin. "Thanks."
"No problem." Victor replied.
"Come on, we've got to go." Glenn said, grabbing his car keys from the table. "We've got to go make sure that the 'Chinese Food' is going to come on time."
Cole, Leo, and Victor exchanged looks. "We're on it!" They said, racing to follow Glenn.
"What do you think? Should it go here or here?" Sheila asked, glancing down at the kids. Sheila had come over to the Manor to help out with the decorating for Prue and Andy's wedding, and of course, the kids had gravitated towards hanging out with her.
"There." Phiona said, waving her hand at the second location.
Darryl Junior snorted. "This is all girly stuff."
"Just what I was thinking." Sheila replied, to Phiona. She attached the ribbon and then came down from the ladder, looking at her son. "Then what do you propose we do, D.J.?"
"Something fun." D.J., which was what Darryl Junior went by to avoid confusion with his father, answered.
"Like what?" Pearl asked, curiously.
"Ice cream?" D.J. asked, hopefully.
Sheila and the girls exchanged looks. "Well, the cake still needs to be picked up..."
"Why don't we get ice cream and da cake?" Pandora asked, eagerly.
"That's a terrific idea!" Sheila smiled.
"I was the one who thought of ice cream." D.J. said, glaring slightly at the 4-year-old.
"Oh, honey." Sheila laughed. "Come on. Pandora, can you let everyone know?" She asked, as she leaned the ladder against the wall.
Mommy, Aunt Piper, Auntie Paige, Aunt Phoebe! Pandora thought. Me and Ms. Morris and Pearl and Phiona and D.J. and Persia and Pam and Prissy is gonna go get da cake and den get ice cream! She grabbed her jacket from the sofa. "Okay, let's go."
"Uh.."
"Telepathy." Pearl filled in, nodding her head. "Don't worry. Someone got the message."
"Oh..okay." Sheila replied, a little confused. She was used to magic, but not so used to Pandora's telepathy. She waved her hand, ushering the crowd of kids out the front doors.
Paige proudly set up her newest potion. "Perfection." She smiled, running her fingers across the row of multi-colored liquids, in the form of a rainbow. She brushed her hands together, basking in the glow of her achievement. Suddenly a tingle ran through her body and she lifted her eyes, to see a transparent woman floating across the room. "Wh-who are you?" Paige asked.
The woman's long, firery red hair waved around her transparent shoulders, without so much as a breeze blowing. She had long, fire red nails and wore a long, flowing red and black dress; she was very skinny. "I don't remember you." She purred.
"I don't remember you either." Paige hissed, as she grabbed one of her potions.
"Don't waste your time." The woman replied, twitching her fingers. "That won't hurt me."
"Who are you?" Paige demanded.
"Someone who's here to collect what she should have gotten many years ago." The woman smiled, glancing over at the doorway, hearing footsteps. "I'll be back." She whispered, disappearing in a vortex of flames.
Phoebe walked into the kitchen, looking at a very confused Paige. "Paige?" She walked over to her baby sister. "Something wrong?"
Paige just stared at the spot where the transparent woman had been.
"Paige?" Phoebe asked. "Paige, is something wrong?"
"O-over there." Paige says, distantly.
Phoebe walks across the kitchen. "What happened?"
"I saw someone." Paige answered.
"Over here?" Phoebe asked, walking through the spot that Paige was pointing at.
Premonition
Andy walks into the Manor. "Prue, you home?" He sees Phoebe lying unconscious on the floor and runs to her, checking her pulse.
Prue's spirit is floating above her body, staring intently at Jackson Ward. "Ashes to ashes, spirit it spirit, take his soul, banish this evil!"
Jackson begins to fade away. "No! No!"
Andy walks into the kitchen and sees Prue's unconscious body. "Prue!" He kneels down next to her and begins to give her C.P.R.
Prue's spirit looks worried, looking down at Andy and her body. "Andy, don't! Not yet!"
Jackson stops fading away. "It's even better, I get to kill a cop too!" He walks over to the drawer and opens it, then pulls out a sharp kitchen utensil, and goes after an unsuspecting Andy.
"Andy, behind you!" Prue's spirit calls out.
Andy looks behind him, seeing a kitchen untensil flying at him. He grabs a kitchen towel from the table and holds it in front of him, catching the weapon in the towel, and he gets pushed to the ground.
Prue's spirit looks intently at Jackson. "Ashes to ashes, spirit it spirit, take his soul, banish this evil!"
Jackson screams in pain and then explodes into a vanquish.
A red haired transparent woman appears.
"Who are you?" Prue's spirit asks, as Andy goes back to giving Prue's body C.P.R.
"I was hoping to take you or your sister. But it looks like you soul is safe...For now." The red haired woman replies, as she floats above the ground. She disappears in a spiral of flames.
Prue's spirit is sucked back into her body and Prue wakes up. "Am I alive?"
Premonition
"Uh oh." Phoebe muttered, as she felt a double premonition coming on.
Premonition
"No!" Andy yelled, jumping in front of Prue, and taking a fireball to the chest. His body went crashing into the wall, as a puddle of blood began to form under him.
"Andy!" Prue screamed, running to his aid. "No, no, no, no!" She cried, pulling Andy's head into her lap. Her pure white dress instantly turned red, soaking up the massive amounts of Andy's blood.
The red haired woman appeared in a spiral of flames, grinning devilishly. "Just a matter of time..." She said, as she watched a round of bullets made of magic fire, course through through Prue's back, and out her stomach. "Finally."
Prue fell backwards, landing hard on the ground, as blood raced from her body. Suddenly her spirit rose from her body, just as the remaining Charmed Ones made their way into the room.
"You're too late." The red haired woman grinned, pointing to Prue's spirit. A transparent fireball appeared in her hand and she hurled it into Prue's spirit, causing Prue's spirit to explode in a blast of flames. Her transparent body glowed, letting off a hot red light, then her eyes turned black. "I've done it!" She exclaimed, turning corporal. "And now I can not only take over the souls of the world, but I can take over the world itself!"
Premonition
"Oh no!" Phoebe gasped, as she came out of the premonition. "Prue!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
A/N: BTW, I've gotten another request for a second child for Prue & Andy, from peanut2lb. I know what a huge Prue/Andy fan she is and she has been a really, really loyal reader and so I'm considering it. But I want to know, who all wants/thinks another baby would be good in this fic?
