Chapter One: The Fourth Day
Three days.
It had been three long, painful days since they'd been exposed to the world as witches. Three days since Leo had healed Piper from certain death. Three days since Cole, on the brink of death, himself, had brought Phoebe's broken, lifeless body back to the Manor.
The details were still hazy, but according to Leo and Cole, Piper had originally died when Alice Hicks had shot her. And when she found out, Phoebe had agreed to stay in the Underworld in order to have Tempus turn back time and erase the exposure of magic, saving Piper's life. Only something had gone wrong, and the reversal was never fully completed. And Phoebe had lost her life in the process.
It had been three long, painful days of wandering around as if in a dream. But now, reality was rearing its ugly head, shoving the Halliwell family into the harsh light of day.
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"Wait a minute," Prue said, cutting Darryl off with an upraised hand. "You want us to do what?"
"I want you to tell the judge that Alice Hicks shot Phoebe, and that's how she died," Darryl explained, patiently.
"That's called lying," Piper stated.
"That's called covering your tracks," Darryl told them. "You already said that Hicks shot you, Piper, and that if time hadn't been reversed, you would have died."
"But that's me," Piper protested. "Not Phoebe."
"Detective Cortez has already charged Hicks with murder in the first degree," Darryl said. "He believes that's what happened. Everyone does. It's what they're comfortable believing."
When neither of them said anything, he continued, "Would you rather go in there and tell everyone that a demon killed Phoebe, instead? Or that Piper was really the one shot, but Leo healed what would have been a fatal gunshot wound?"
"You know we can't do that," Prue said. "Magic's been exposed enough, already."
"I don't see that you have a choice," Leo spoke up, from his perch on the arm of the couch.
"If time hadn't been reversed," Darryl pressed on, "Hicks would be on trial for Piper's murder. And if she isn't convicted now, she's likely to come after you, again."
Prue and Piper shared a long look, before turning their attention back to Darryl.
"What do we have to do?" Prue asked, the exhaustion of the last several days creeping into her voice.
"You need a lawyer," Darryl said. "Someone to represent you during the trial."
"And where are we going to find a lawyer willing to work for a couple of witches?" Piper asked, cynically. "Not to mention it would have to be practically pro bono, since paying for Phoebe's funeral was so expensive."
"That is going to be a challenge," Darryl admitted, reluctantly.
"I think I know someone," Cole spoke up, quietly. He hovered in the doorway, unwilling to come closer as it would have sparked another fight between himself and Prue.
"So give us his name and we'll go talk to him," Prue said, glaring at him. Neither she nor Piper could forgive him for being the one to survive, while Phoebe had died.
"It's a her, actually, and it's not that simple," Cole told them. "I need to talk to her alone, to convince her to do this."
"Fine," Prue said shortly, dismissing him immediately as she turned back to her family. Without another word, Cole shimmered away.
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Cole walked into the offices of Child and Welfare Services, and smiled at the receptionist. The obviously frazzled woman glared at him.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"Cole Turner to see Paige Wilder," he told her.
"Do you have an appointment?" she asked. "Ms. Wilder is a very busy woman."
"I don't have an appointment," Cole said, "but I'm sure if you tell Paige that I want to see her, she'll make the time."
"Ms. Wilder is a very busy woman," the receptionist repeated, in a snippy voice.
"If you could just tell her I'm here," Cole said, drawing on his rapidly-dwindling source of patience.
"Mari?" a familiar voice called out, "did my next appointment show up, yet?"
"Your eleven o'clock appointment is late," the receptionist informed her.
"I could always fill in for them," Cole spoke up, quickly, before the woman could continue.
Paige looked up at him in surprise, and the corners of her mouth quirked upwards in a tiny smile.
"Come on back," she said, over the receptionist's spluttering. "Mari, if my eleven o'clock shows up, tell her I'll be with her as soon as I can."
"You look tired," Cole said, following Paige back to her office.
"Long night," Paige said shortly, as she gestured him inside.
"You know, I've seen closets bigger than this," Cole commented, as he took a seat in Paige's cramped office. "How do you stand it in here?"
"I get by," Paige replied, shutting the door behind her.
Crossing the room in a few, quick strides, she yanked the window open and stuck her head out, breathing deeply for a few seconds before settling at her desk.
"Usually by doing that," she continued. "Working here certainly isn't doing anything for my claustrophobia. But I doubt you came here to discuss my neuroses."
"No," Cole admitted.
"So, what can I do for you?" Paige asked, sitting forward and locking gazes with Cole.
"I need your help," Cole told her. "The Hicks murder trial."
"What about it?" Paige asked, cautiously.
"The Halliwell sisters need a lawyer," Cole began, but Paige cut him off.
"I can't take this case, Cole," Paige interrupted.
"It's been nearly two years since you stopped practicing criminal cases," Cole protested.
"I had a good reason for stopping," Paige told him.
"And I have a good reason for you to come back," Cole retorted. "Paige, this case is a slam dunk. The only reason no one else will touch it is because they're witches."
Paige didn't even flinch at the mention of witches; she only sat back and eyed Cole speculatively.
"If it's such a slam dunk," she said, softly, "why don't you take it?"
"I can't," Cole admitted, hesitantly. "There are… people looking for me. I can't afford to be seen so publicly."
"What people?" Paige asked, puzzled. "Cole, if you're in some kind of trouble…"
"It's not anything you can do anything about," Cole said, quickly, and Paige shot him a suspicious look.
"Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something?" Paige muttered.
"Paige, the sisters need you," Cole said, returning abruptly to his earlier topic.
"I can't," Paige repeated, angrily.
"Can't, or won't?" Cole retorted.
"An innocent man is dead because of me, Cole," Paige snapped, remembering at the last second to keep her voice down.
"He's dead because his cell mate beat him to death," Cole told her.
"And who put him in jail?" Paige asked, bitterly.
"I was defending him, and even I thought he was guilty," Cole told her. "All the evidence pointed to it."
"Maybe," he continued, quieter, "this is a chance to make things right. To make up for Allen Lydecker."
"I hate reverse psychology," Paige muttered. After a second, she heaved a deep sigh. "When's the trial?"
"Two days," Cole responded.
"Witnesses?" Paige continued.
"A couple dozen, at least half of which are cops," Cole told her. "They'll cooperate simply because the alternative is letting a murderer walk free."
"Any who are going to cooperate because it's the right thing to do?" Paige asked, wryly.
"Inspector Darryl Morris," Cole replied. "He's a close friend of the Halliwells. You'll have his full cooperation."
"I'll meet with the Halliwells tomorrow," Paige said. "I want to take today to prepare."
"That's probably best," Cole said. "Phoebe's funeral is later this afternoon, and-"
His voice broke suddenly, and he swiped awkwardly at the tears that pooled in the corners of his eyes.
"You were close, weren't you?" Paige asked, softly. "You and Phoebe."
"I loved her," Cole said, simply, grief choking his voice.
"Tomorrow, then," Paige said, and Cole nodded.
"I should get going, anyway," he said, "before the dragon guarding the gates comes after me."
"Mari's not that bad," Paige protested, laughing.
"You've never had to deal with her from that side of the desk," Cole retorted. "Bye, Paige," he added, walking out the door.
Paige stared at his retreating back for a long second, startled when Mari poked her head in.
"What'd the witch want?" she asked, shutting the door behind her.
"What, exactly, do you have against Cole?" Paige asked. "He's never done anything to me."
"It's just a feeling I get," the Whitelighter said. "You taking the case?"
"I thought you didn't know what Cole and I discussed," Paige accused, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"I have good ears," Mari stated, blandly.
"Yes, I'm taking the case," Paige said, after a moment.
"Good," Mari said, surprising her. "It's about time you put yourself back out there."
"I'm only doing this for the Charmed Ones," Paige protested, staring at the newspaper clipping she'd dug out of her desk drawer. "To see that justice is done."
"Whatever your reasons," Mari said, "it's good to see you living, again. Do you want me to send your next appointment in?"
"Sure, thanks," Paige replied, and the other woman walked briskly out the door.
Paige's gaze dropped again to the clipping. Murderer or vigilante? the headline screamed.
"God, don't let me screw this one up," Paige whispered, fighting back the memories. "Just let me win this one last case."
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"We pray that we will one day share the bread and wine with our sister. Oh, blessed spirit, we bid you farewell."
Prue swallowed hard around the knot in her throat as she watched the Wiccan priestess gently fold a silver cord into a chalice. With slow, deliberate movements, she extinguished the candles signifying life, death, and rebirth. Then, with a slow nod at the small crowd of mourners, she gracefully exited the mausoleum. Just as quietly, the other mourners followed her, leaving the family alone.
Beside Prue, Piper gave a dry sob as she stared at the finality of the scene.
"It's real," she whispered, tearfully. "Phoebe's really gone."
"We'll get through this, somehow," Prue whispered, back, giving Piper's hand a reassuring squeeze.
"You didn't cry," Piper observed, quietly, as they and Leo made their way to the back of the mausoleum, where Cole waited impassively.
"Not until Phoebe's killers are dead," Prue vowed. "I can't, not until her death is avenged."
Piper nodded in understanding, and stared apprehensively at the closed doors, behind which a horde of reporters awaited them.
"They're not just going to go away," Cole told them. "Leo and I could get you out of here, without anyone knowing."
"No," Piper said, determination filling her voice. "We drove here, we'll drive away. They won't scare us away so easily."
Taking a deep breath, they threw open the doors, and stepped out into Bedlam.
"Prue! Piper! What do you feel your chances are in tomorrow's trial?"
Prue recoiled at the microphone being shoved in her face and snarled at the reporter.
"Get the hell away from us!" she cried, grabbing Piper's arm and propelling them both towards the car.
"Do you think Alice Hicks will be committed for your sister's murder, or is she innocent, like everyone's saying?"
Even as Prue readied herself to start shouting at the reporters, Cole moved in. He slapped the microphone out of the reporter's hand with a vicious swipe, and sent the cameraman, and his camera, tumbling a second later.
"Leave us alone," he growled. "Don't you vultures have anything better to do than profit from other people's misery?"
"Cole Turner," a reporter called out, recognizing him. "As an assistant district attorney, why aren't you defending the Halliwells? Rumor has it you hired a pro bono CPS lawyer to do the job."
"No comment," Cole snapped, wondering uneasily how they'd come upon that little nugget of info.
"Are you afraid of a losing trial?" another called out. "Is that why you didn't take the case?"
"Let it go," Leo said, quietly, laying a restraining hand on Cole's arm when he would have physically attacked the reporter. "They aren't worth it. Save it for those who are."
Cole nodded wordlessly, his jaw clenched tight with outrage. Grabbing him by the elbow to insure his continued cooperation, Leo steered him and the girls to where Darryl was waiting by Piper's jeep.
"Get in and go," he said, quickly, when they reached him. "I can't hold them off any longer."
"Thank you, Darryl," Piper said, giving him a quick hug before getting in the car.
Darryl nodded, and they drove off, reporters running after them down the street for several blocks.
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"What are you doing?" Piper asked, pausing in the doorway of Phoebe's bedroom to see Prue sitting on the bed.
"Pictures," Prue said, lifting the album in her lap by way of explanation.
"Do you remember when this was taken?" she continued, as Piper sat down next to her.
"Phoebe's tenth birthday," Piper said, reminiscently. "When you two just had a huge fight, so you gave her a lump of mud instead of the necklace you bought her."
"And she put the mud inside my sheets before she found the necklace on her pillow that night," Prue finished. "That was some day."
"What about that big play in junior high," Piper said, "when she decided to spice up her costume?"
"She was the only pilgrim with visible cleavage," Prue laughed. "She nearly got kicked out of the play."
"She nearly got expelled," Piper corrected.
"That's our Phoebe," Prue said, sadly. "Piper, I really miss her."
"So do I," Piper said. "God, Prue, what are we going to do? I mean, we have to deal with all of her stuff, her will-"
"The Power of Three," Prue interjected, softly. "Piper, every demon in the Underworld is going to want the glory of killing us, now. And I don't know if we have the power to stop them."
It scared Piper, seeing her normally fearless big sister so rattled, so vulnerable, but she didn't let her feelings show on her face as she hugged Prue.
"We'll figure something out," she promised. "We always do."
"It's ironic, isn't it?" Prue said. "We saved Phoebe from burning at the stake two years ago only to have her die, now."
"You lying son of a bitch! I trusted you!"
A woman's enraged yells brought Prue and Piper sprinting down the stairs and into the living room, only to be stopped short at the sight of a pale, black-haired woman threatening Cole with an athame. She held it with an ease that suggested long familiarity with a knife.
"Paige, calm down," Cole said, quickly, holding his hands up in a gesture of truce.
"Calm down?" Paige asked, her voice gone deadly quiet. "You're a demon, Cole. How calm do you want me to be?"
"Calm enough to put the athame back in your purse," he joked, weakly.
"What the hell is going on, here?" Piper demanded, furiously.
"Meet your new lawyer," Cole said.
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"You summoned me, my liege?"
The Source looked up with mild interest at the demon bowed prostrate before him.
"You're the third Seer I've consulted," the Source said. "I hope you have a better answer for me than they did."
Looking at the scorch marks on the floor, all that was left of the previous soothsayers, Daemia hoped for the same thing.
"What is it you wish to know, my liege?" she asked.
"The Charmed Ones," the Source intoned. "Tell me of them."
"The Charmed Ones are vanquished, my liege," Daemia said, eagerly. "Ever since your guards killed Balthazar's witch."
"Two still live," the Source said.
"They are of no threat to you," Daemia said, fawningly. "Why worry about them, at all?"
Her last thought before the fireball incinerated her was that, obviously, that wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"I told you that you wouldn't be able to find anyone to corroborate my vision. Second-raters with parlor tricks, all of them."
The voice, coming from the shadows, had an amused air to it.
"You are certain the Charmed Ones will be resurrected?" the Source asked, ignoring the earlier comment.
"Nothing is certain," the Seer said. "Even with foresight. I said that it was merely a possibility."
"Possibility or not," the Source said, "I want the remaining Charmed Ones dead. To insure that they cannot be resurrected."
Motioning to a nearby guard, he gestured impatiently when the demon started to bow.
"Send Shax after the witches," he ordered. "Let's see the Elders resurrect ashes."
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"Paige Wilder," the woman said, sticking the athame back in her purse as she held her hand out in a greeting. "I'm sorry to meet you under such tragic circumstances."
"Thank you. I'm Prue, and this is Piper," Prue said, eyeing her. "Do you always carry weapons with you?"
"Doesn't everyone?" Paige quipped.
"So, why exactly were you threatening Cole?" Piper asked.
"It's a personal matter," Paige said, her tone indicating that the matter was closed. "Shall we get started?"
"Cole said you'd be preparing us for the trial tomorrow?" Piper asked.
"That's right," Paige said, briskly.
"Are you a witch?" Prue broke in, suspiciously.
"Yes, I am," Paige said, without hesitation. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"
"Are you going to try to vanquish him?" Prue continued, tipping her head toward Cole.
"If you three didn't vanquish him," Paige said, easily, "there must be a reason. Who am I to mess with that?"
"Good answer," Prue said, gesturing toward a chair. Paige sat, taking a sheet of paper out of her briefcase.
"It's a copy of the police report," she explained. "According to this, Alice Hicks climbed onto the roof of a news van with a sniper's rifle, and fatally shot Phoebe Halliwell. She was pronounced dead on the scene."
"That's-" Piper began to lie, but Paige cut her off with a look.
"According to the Elders," she continued, icily, "Phoebe took a fireball to the chest, which killed her instantly. The bullet from Hick's gun instead hit Piper, who was healed by your Whitelighter."
"I was going to tell you," Cole insisted.
"Before or after I perjured myself and put my career on the line?" Paige asked him. "I don't like being lied to, Cole."
"Noted," he responded. "Are you still on the case?"
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," Paige said. "I just want--no, I need—to know the truth about everything that happened, so that I can make a more convincing case to the judge and jury."
"Don't you mean a more convincing lie?" Piper asked.
"Don't get me wrong, Ms. Halliwell," Paige said. "I detest lying, in most cases. But here, there's no other way to insure that justice is done, that Alice Hicks is put behind bars, where she belongs.
"And from the Elder's point of view, so that the exposure of magic doesn't become any worse," she added, with a wry smile.
"So, what can we expect?" Prue asked, steering them back to the original topic.
"Hicks' defense attorney is Charles Layton," Paige told them, becoming all business in a heartbeat. "He's a bulldog under normal circumstances; he'll be worse, knowing that you two, and Phoebe, are witches."
She broke off as Cole came in from the kitchen with water, and accepted her glass with a quick smile.
"My job," she went on, "is to prepare you for what he's likely to do, so that it doesn't catch you by surprise tomorrow. Layton is probably going to take one of two stands; one being that Hicks is a hero of the people, ridding the world of an insidious evil they weren't even aware existed. He'll try to canonize her in the jury's eyes, try to convince them that she was only acting for the Greater Good."
"What's the other stand?" Prue asked. "You said he'd take two."
"The other is a portrayal of Hicks as a victim," Paige said, reluctantly. "Most likely, he'll try to sell the jury on the idea that you and Prue were using Hicks."
"Using Hicks for what?" Prue asked, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"A scapegoat," Paige told them. "He'll try to convince judge and jury that you two were plotting to kill Phoebe, yourselves, and that Hicks was merely your instrument."
There was no warning. One second, everything was calm; the next, the glass in Paige's hand exploded, shards of glass flying dangerously toward her face. But Paige never flinched, even when a piece of glass sliced open her cheek, leaving a deep gash in its wake.
Instead, she merely frowned, and the glass suddenly started moving away from her. It circled in midair, caught up in a whirlwind that spun tighter and tighter. Soon, the glass slowed, then finally stopped moving altogether, coming to rest in a softly clinking pile in Paige's outstretched hand.
Paige deposited the broken glass onto the table beside her, and fastidiously brushed at her hands. Then, she passed a finger over the wound on her cheek, a faint glow following her finger. When she lowered her hand, only a scar remained where seconds before blood had been flowing down her face. Only then did she look at Piper.
"You'll want to leash that temper, when you're in court tomorrow," she said, softly. "Mortals aren't so keen on being blown up."
A ringing silence followed her words, broken only the sound of glass as it was brushed into a wastebasket. Finally, Prue spoke up, saying the first thing that leapt out of her mouth.
"You're self healing?" she demanded.
"No," Paige said, gazing at them steadily. "Self cauterizing. Are you calm enough that we can continue?" she asked Piper.
Piper nodded tightly, not trusting herself to speak.
"As I was saying," Paige continued, "Layton is ruthless. He'll most likely be trying to get the jury to put you two on trial."
"How can he do that?" Prue asked.
"By making you look like the bad guys," Cole spoke up. "He has a reputation for terrorizing the victim's families in court."
"Is that why Hicks chose him?" Piper asked, finally trusting her control on her temper.
"I imagine that's one reason," Paige said, dryly.
"What's another?" Cole asked, puzzled.
"Nepotism," Paige replied. "Layton is Hick's cousin.
"Isn't that illegal?" Leo asked, having heard the last part of the conversation.
"Only if he's a judge," Paige told him. "Who are you?"
"Leo Wyatt," Leo introduced himself. "Piper's husband and their Whitelighter."
"Paige Wilder," Paige said, holding out her hand to shake. Leo looked slightly discomforted, but took her hand after a long moment.
"So, what did the Elders say?" Piper asked.
"Nothing," Leo admitted. "I wasn't allowed to see them."
"Why not?" Prue demanded.
"No one is being allowed access to the Elders," Leo explained. "They've sequestered themselves away, become completely unreachable."
"What could make them do that?" Piper asked.
"I don't know," Leo admitted. "But it's got to be something big."
"Can you keep bugging them until you find out what it is?" Prue asked.
"Not unless I want my wings clipped," Leo retorted.
"We can't risk that," Piper said, instantly.
"The Elders won't either," Paige said, startling them. "They won't dare touch Leo now. Not when he's their only link to you two, and you're both likely to vanquish anyone new they send."
"She's got a point," Cole said. "As their Whitelighter, you're virtually untouchable. I'd say you can pester them with impunity."
"Then that's what I'll do," Leo said, orbing away.
"And I have a lead of my own to follow," Cole said, shimmering away.
"Well," Piper said, into the silence that followed, "let's get back on track."
"After I answer that," Prue said, groaning as the phone rang insistently. Grabbing the cordless headset, she walked into the kitchen, talking as she went.
Piper and Paige were left alone in an awkward silence, one that Paige broke by wandering over to the fireplace.
"You have a lovely family," Paige said, politely, as she looked at the pictures on the mantel. Then, her gaze fell on the last one, and her face drained of all color.
"Who's this?" she asked quietly, her voice tense and strained.
"That's Phoebe with our mom," Piper said, affectionately, seeing the picture she was looking at. Noticing the look on Paige's face, she asked, "Is something wrong?"
Paige shook her head wordlessly and hooked a finger on the chain around her neck, drawing an antique silver locket out from underneath her shirt. Opening it, she wordlessly passed it Piper and stalked away, waiting for the explosion.
She didn't have long to wait.
"Prue!" Piper yelled, after a long, shocked moment, bringing her big sister into the room at a run.
"What is it?" Prue asked.
"Look at this," Piper demanded, shoving the locket at Prue. Prue looked for several seconds at the pictures of Patty Halliwell and Sam Wilder before glaring at Paige.
"What is this?" she demanded. Paige slowly turned to face them, her movements slow and deliberate, as though she was afraid she might shatter.
"The only pictures I have of my birth parents," she whispered, her voice rough with suppressed emotion.
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"This is impossible," Prue snapped, angrily, shoving Paige's locket back at her.
Paige's hands closed convulsively around the antique and her hands shook as she clasped it around her neck.
"Those pictures can't possibly be real," Prue fumed, still going full force. "You made them up, or something."
"Now, why would I do that?" Paige demanded, furiously, anger overcoming her shock.
"There is one way to be sure," Piper said, interrupting them both.
"What?" Prue snapped, turning on her.
"We could ask Mom," Piper suggested.
"Fine," Prue growled, stalking up the stairs, Piper and Paige following her.
Prue made her way to the Book of Shadows, with Piper joining her, but Paige stayed by the door of the attic, an inscrutable expression on her face. Prue flipped quickly through the pages before finally stopping at the spell she wanted. She waited while Piper finished lighting a circle of candles before they both began to chant.
"Hear these words, hear my cry,
Spirit from the other side.
Come to me, I summon thee,
Cross now the Great Divide."
A swirl of lights filled the attic, clearing to reveal a slim, brunette woman standing in the center of the candles.
"Prue," she gasped, clearly surprised. "Piper. What am I doing here? Why did you summon me?"
"We need you to tell us about Paige, Mom," Piper told her, getting right to the heart of the matter.
"Who?" Patty asked, but an uneasy look crossed her face, betraying her nerves.
"You know who," Prue snapped, stressed. "Who is she?"
"Mom, is she our sister?" Piper pressed, when Patty was silent for several long seconds.
"Yes," Patty whispered, and, behind her, Paige's eyes widened in shock.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Prue demanded. "And why don't Piper and I remember you being pregnant? We would have been old enough."
"You don't remember because I cast a spell on you, to cloud your memories of that time," Patty told them, sadly. "Because I didn't want you to remember."
"Why?" Paige spoke up, softly, startling Patty. "Were you afraid the Elders would find out about me?"
"The Elders already knew," Patty said, finally face to face with the daughter she hadn't seen in twenty-five years. "They were the ones who arranged for your birth."
"What are you talking about?" Piper asked. "I thought it was forbidden for witches and Whitelighters to be together."
"It only became forbidden after I became pregnant with Paige," Patty said. "Before then, the Elders simply urged caution."
"Forbidden because They didn't want anyone doing by accident what They'd done deliberately, right?" Paige asked, cynically, as several pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.
"What are you talking about?" Prue demanded, turning on Paige.
"Don't you see?" Paige said, with a bitter laugh, "I'm nothing more than the Elders' sick attempt at genetic engineering. One that failed, obviously, since they went to such lengths to keep it from happening again."
"No," Patty insisted, startling them. "One that succeeded, beyond even Their wildest dreams, which is why they went to such lengths to keep it from happening again."
"I think you'd better start at the beginning, Mom," Piper said, looking warily at the dazed expression on Paige's face.
"It all started when Mother and I made the decision to bind you girls' powers," Patty said, speaking to Piper and Prue. "To protect you from Nicholas. Needless to say, the Elders weren't happy about that. They felt that Mother and I were messing with destiny, by taking away Their promised champions. So They decided to do something about it.
"Sam and I found out that the Elders knew about our relationship at the same time that I found out I was pregnant--and we found out that They were responsible for the second. I was told that Sam and I would be left alone, if I carried the baby to term."
"Why was Paige so important to Them?" Piper asked. "No offense," she added, hastily, but Paige didn't seem to hear a word she said. All her attention was focused on Patty.
"Paige was conceived to be your replacement," Patty said, reluctantly. "To insure that the world had a champion since it no longer had the Charmed Ones.
"They made you powerful," she continued, speaking directly to Paige, "physically, intellectually, and magically. They wanted to make sure that you would be able to survive dealing with the type of demons meant for the Charmed Ones."
"That explains a lot," Paige said, softly. "But you haven't told all of it. Why, if the Elders knew about me, did you give me up? Was that part of Their plan, too?"
Patty gazed sadly at her youngest daughter for a long moment before answering.
"No," she said, honestly. "They wanted me to keep you, to raise you with your sisters."
"Then, why?" Paige asked, her voice cracking with emotion on the last word.
"Because I resented you," Patty told her, as Paige gasped in shock and pain. "I resented you for having what my girls couldn't, for being what they weren't allowed to be. And I couldn't bear to be reminded of that every day."
Wordlessly, Paige spun around and ran out of the attic, agony plain on her face. Tears blinded her as she rushed down the stairs, but she dashed them away, cruelly, with the back of her hand. Reaching the first floor, she stumbled into the living room, where she grabbed her purse and wildly started rummaging through it.
"What are you looking for?" Cole asked, mildly, from behind her. Paige jumped slightly, but didn't stop her feverish actions.
"My keys," she said, as she went to upend her purse on the couch. "Where the hell are my damn car keys?"
"You don't have them," Cole told her, catching her purse before she spilled it everywhere. Catching her by the shoulders, he spun her around to look in her eyes.
"You didn't drive here, remember?" he told her. "I brought you. Paige, what's happened?"
"I-I can't," Paige gasped. "Get me out of here," she pleaded, tears pooling in her eyes. "Please?"
"Okay," Cole said, quietly, shimmering them both out of the Manor. A few seconds later, Prue and Piper pounded down the stairs into the now-empty living room.
"Paige!" Piper yelled, looking around. "Paige!"
"She's obviously not here," Prue said.
"Leo!" Piper called, suddenly, the Whitelighter orbing in a few seconds later.
"What is it?" Leo asked. "Where's Paige? Weren't you in a meeting about the case?"
"Yeah, there's been a problem with that," Prue said.
"What kind of problem?" Leo asked.
"She's our sister," Piper said flatly. A moment later, she narrowed her eyes and glared at Leo.
"You don't look surprised by that," she said, suspiciously. "Why aren't you surprised by that?"
"Because he knew," Prue guessed. "Right, Leo?"
Leo opened his mouth, presumably to defend himself, but he never got the chance to speak.
"How could you not tell us about this?" Piper shrieked. "How could you know all these years that we have a sister and not tell us? How-how dare you keep this from us?"
"Piper, it's not as simple as you make it out to be," Leo protested, weakly. "I was sworn to secrecy by the Elders. No one was allowed to know. Paige's adoptive family, the coven that raised her, didn't even know the truth. They just thought she was some magical baby that had been given into their protection."
"Then why do you know?" Prue demanded.
"I was allowed to know because I'm your Whitelighter," Leo said, glumly. "The Elders reasoned that they couldn't keep me from finding out since I was so close to your family."
He would have said more, but was cut off by a sudden gust of wind that blew through the room, slamming them to the floor. Prue picked herself up off the floor, to find Shax standing in the middle of the living room.
XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX
"Paige, are you going to tell me what happened?"
Paige bit her lip as she forced her hands to stop trembling. Picking up the teacup on the kitchen counter, she clutched it convulsively as she turned to face Cole.
"Why are you still here?" she asked, hating the pleading note in her voice.
"Because you're hurting, and I'm not going to leave you alone to let you do something stupid," Cole replied.
"I'm not going to do anything stupid," Paige muttered, irritably.
"Talk anyway," Cole said, reasonably.
Paige sighed, sat down in the chair across from Cole, and fiddled with the coaster on the small coffee table.
"I found some things out about myself, today," she said, at last, her voice barely above a whisper. "Things I wish now I'd never found out."
"Like what?" Cole prompted.
Paige gave a short laugh and looked up, locking gazes with him.
"I'm a Halliwell," she said, a bitter note in her voice. "My newest clients are my sisters."
"All my life, I've believed," she continued, softly, "was led to believe, that my birth mother was a witch in the coven that raised me. They told me she died in labor. I knew my father was a Whitelighter, of course; they couldn't hide that from me. But I assumed that he'd been punished by the Elders for his relationship with my mother, and that's why I never got to know him.
"It took five minutes to shatter all that. It turns out that my birth parents were rewarded for having me, and that my own mother couldn't stand the sight of me, so she left me to strangers to raise."
"Paige, I'm sorry," Cole said, for lack of anything better to say. "How did you find out?"
"There's a picture on their mantel, of Phoebe with their-our-mother," Paige told him. "It matches the picture I have in my locket. And then Prue and Piper summoned their mother, and she confirmed it."
Cole opened his mouth to say something, but never got the chance as a familiar glow filled the room. The swirl of lights coalesced into Leo, who had a panicked look on his face.
"You have to come with me," he snapped, to Paige. "Your sisters need you."
"Why?" Paige demanded, rising. "What's happened?"
"Shax is attacking them," Leo said.
He held out a hand and, when Paige grabbed it, orbed them both away. Cole followed, a heartbeat later.
Paige and Leo materialized in the middle of the living room in time to see Shax hurl a concussive blast at Prue. Even as Prue held up her hands to telekinetically deflect the energy, Paige generated a wind that knocked her out of the destructive path. Their combined efforts caused the concussive blast to demolish the grandfather clock standing in the hallway. Enraged, Shax turned on Paige.
"Stay away from her!" Piper yelled, blasting the demon as he advanced on Paige.
The demon didn't blow up, but he was distracted long enough for Paige to make her move. A tiny line appeared in her forehead as she focused her power and, a second later, Shax went up in a brilliant blaze. Prue grabbed Paige's arm, suddenly, dragging her past the demonic flambé and up the stairs to the attic.
"Where are we going?" Paige demanded, stumbling slightly as she was pulled bodily up the stairs.
"The Shax vanquishing spell is in the Book of Shadows," Piper told her, as they entered the attic.
"I can't say that spell," Paige spluttered, in disbelief, as she found herself being planted between her sisters in front of the Book's pedestal. "I'm not a Charmed One."
"You're our blood," Piper said, quietly. "Maybe that's enough."
"Piper's right," Prue said, before Paige could reply. "We need you, Paige."
"Incoming," Cole said, suddenly, shimmering into the attic. "Shax is right behind me."
Proving his point, the demon gusted into the attic, slamming Cole into the wall, where he slid, dazed, to the floor.
"You ready?" Prue asked, shouting to be heard over Shax's wind. Paige nodded, wordlessly, and they started to chant.
"Evil wind that blows.
That which forms below.
No longer may you dwell,
Death takes you with this spell."
There was a single, tense, heartbeat of absolute silence, and then Shax screamed as the spell overwhelmed him. A wave of energy engulfed him, and then there was nothing to mark that he'd ever been there. Paige stared in horror at the spot, and then at Prue and Piper.
"That should not have worked," she said, quietly. "I am not a Charmed One. That never should have worked."
"Actually, you are," Leo said, softly, startling them all.
"She's what?" Piper demanded, turning to her husband.
"She's a Charmed One," Leo told them. "The Elders told me right before you called me, earlier."
"They can't do that," Paige said, slowly.
"You're a Warren witch, you're their sister, and now you've been given the power of premonition," Leo said. "That's all that's needed to fulfill the prophecy."
"No," Paige said, anger sparking in her tone. "They can't do that. They can't just screw with my life like this!"
"They can't screw with any of us like this!" Prue snapped. "They can't just expect us to stand by while They replace Phoebe."
"They didn't have a choice," Leo said, heavily. "The world needs the Charmed Ones."
"What about our choice?" Piper demanded. "Don't we get a say in this?"
"I have to go," Leo said, not meeting her gaze. "They're calling me."
He quickly orbed out, leaving the shocked trio behind.
"What now?" Prue asked, breaking the silence.
"I don't know," Paige muttered, rubbing at the migraine forming behind her temples.
"I do," Cole said, as he walked over. "Shax is dead. You need to forget about him, about what just happened, and focus on the case, tomorrow. What time does court convene?" he asked Paige.
"Nine a.m.," she replied.
"You two need to be there by eight-thirty, so that we can go over some details," she told Prue and Piper. "For now, just get some rest. It's going to be a hard day, tomorrow."
"You want me to take you home?" Cole asked.
"Sure," Paige replied. "I doubt Leo's coming back, and there's no use bugging my Whitelighter. If she even still is my Whitelighter."
She took Cole's arm, and he shimmered out. When they were alone in the attic, Prue turned to Piper.
"Paige is right," she said. "We both need to get some rest. We'll figure out the Power of Three thing later."
Piper gave a short laugh.
"I don't think we'll ever figure it out," she said. "Not if the Elders get their way."
XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX
The next morning, they came downstairs to see Cole sprawled out, asleep, on the couch in the living room.
"What are you doing?" Prue asked, as he jerked awake in surprise.
"Sorry," he apologized. "Paige's idea."
"She wanted you to sleep on our couch?" Piper asked, dryly.
"No," Cole replied. "She wanted me to make sure the Source didn't send any more demons after you. I just happened to fall asleep."
"I suppose you want coffee?" Piper asked.
Without waiting for an answer, she turned and stalked into the kitchen, leaving Cole and Prue to trail after her.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Prue asked, watching Piper slam through the cupboards.
"This whole thing," Piper growled, dashing away the tears that formed in her eyes. "How could the Elders do this, Prue? How could They take Phoebe away like that, and just expect us to accept her replacement? Don't They have hearts?"
She slammed the coffee cup in her hands down on the table, not even noticing when it cracked completely in half. Momentarily stunned by the force of Piper's rarely-seen anger, Prue found herself at a loss for words. Surprisingly, it was Cole who answered.
"Maybe the Elders are assholes," he replied. "But that doesn't excuse you from having to deal with this. Paige is having just as hard a time of it as you two, and at least you have each other. She doesn't have anyone."
"No, it's not fair," he continued. "But life never is, and you're going to have to accept that fact."
He shimmered out, leaving them alone to think.
An hour later, they found themselves sitting in Piper's jeep in front of the courthouse.
"Are you ready for this?" Prue asked.
"No," Piper replied, with a sigh. "But I guess we don't have a choice, do we?"
They climbed out of the car and went up the steps of the courthouse, dodging the reporters shoving microphones in their faces. Waiting for them at the top of the stairs was Paige, who ushered them inside, quickly.
"You won't have to worry about them during the trial," she said. "Judge Winthrop's banned them from the courtroom."
"Can't he do anything about them now?" Prue asked, resisting the urge to use her powers on the reporters.
"Unfortunately, no," Paige replied. "This way."
She led the way into an abandoned room, slamming the door on a bunch of startled faces, and locking it for good measure. Then, she turned to her sisters.
"How are you guys doing?" she asked.
"Not well," Piper replied, honestly.
"Is this Judge Winthrop going to care that we're your sisters?" Prue asked, and Paige shook her head.
"I already told you, it doesn't matter," she said. "Actually, at this point, Winthrop won't care if you hire a trained chimpanzee, so long as the chimp can humiliate Layton."
"Say that again?" Piper asked, incredulous.
"Winthrop and Layton used to buddies," Paige said, "until Winthrop caught Layton sleeping with his wife."
"Ouch," Prue commented.
"Exactly," Paige replied. "Winthrop should, rightfully, excuse himself from the case, but his pride won't let him. And his new-found hatred of Layton should work in our advantage."
"But isn't it the jury we need to convince?" Piper asked.
"They're only part of it," Paige responded. "Don't worry; We're not going to lose this one."
"After this trial is over," Prue said, as Paige made to open the door, "we need to go hunting. The demons that killed Phoebe are still out there."
"No," Paige responded, quietly. "Not anymore, they're not. She was my sister, too."
XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX
"Ms Hicks, where did you get the gun?"
Paige stopped her idle pacing in front of the witness stand, to stare at Alice Hicks. Most people tended to squirm under that direct a gaze, but Hicks merely smiled.
"It was lying in a big van," she said. "No one was watching me, so I picked it up."
"Big van?" Paige repeated, incredulously. "Do you mean that you just found a sniper's rifle lying around in some random vehicle?"
"It was in the big van," Hicks repeated. "There was a man in a vest in the driver's seat."
"A SWAT van," Paige said, as realization struck. "You took a fully loaded sniper's rifle from an unguarded SWAT van."
"That's right," Hicks confirmed, and Paige turned, leveling her glare at the members of the SWAT team awaiting their turn on the witness stand.
"What happened next, Ms. Hicks?" Paige asked.
"I shot the wicked witch," Hicks replied, simply. "They were mean to me."
"No further questions," Paige said, turning abruptly away.
"Your witness, Counselor," Winthrop said, looking at Layton.
"Alice," Layton said, approaching her. "Why don't you tell everyone what happened?"
"But, I just did," Hicks said, and Paige bit back a smirk. Clearly, the woman's drug habit had degraded her brain.
"Tell it again," Layton encouraged, with remarkable patience.
"Why?" Hicks asked, petulantly.
"I'd like to hear it," he told her. "Could you tell the court what happened that day?"
"What day?"
Not so remarkable, since Layton suddenly looked like he wanted to strangle his cousin.
"She can't possibly be that stupid," Prue hissed, softly, as Layton struggled to keep his composure.
"Oh, yes, she can" Paige muttered back.
"The day in question is when Phoebe Halliwell was shot," Winthrop barked. "Answer the question, Ms Hicks."
"I wanted to join their coven," Hicks said, after Layton had, once again, told her what he wanted to know. "But they threw me out of their house. And so I shot the wicked witch."
"They threw you out," Layton repeated. "How? Did they walk you to the door, shove you through?"
"No," Hicks replied. "She waved her hand and made me fly," she added, pointing at Prue.
"Ms Halliwell, would you care to demonstrate-"
"Objection!" Paige snapped, rising defensively to her feet.
"Sustained," Winthrop replied. "Layton, keep your questions for the people on the witness stand."
"Very well," Layton said. "Alice, did you feel compelled to shoot Phoebe Halliwell?"
"What do you mean?" Hicks asked.
"Did you go to the Halliwells' house with the intention of hurting anyone?" Layton asked.
"No," Hicks replied. "I just wanted to join their coven. And they were mean to me."
"But why shoot Phoebe Halliwell?" Layton persisted. "Why not use your own magic against her?"
"I don't know," Hicks replied.
"But I do," Layton told her, grinning triumphantly. "You shot Phoebe Halliwell because you were under a spell."
Paige stiffened in her seat, watching Layton intently. She'd warned Prue and Piper that he might do this, but she hadn't believed that he could get away with it. Unfortunately, from the looks on the jury's faces, he was on his way to doing just that.
"You were under a spell," Layton repeated, relishing the sudden attentiveness his words brought upon the court. "A spell cast by the Halliwell sisters, themselves."
"Why would they do that?" Hicks asked.
"Why, indeed?" Layton asked. "Here you just wanted to be friends, and they used you for their own dark purposes."
"And what dark purposes would that be?" Winthrop asked, dryly, clearly not buying a word that Layton was saying.
Layton paused for dramatic effect, looking each member of the jury in the eye, before he spoke.
"To kill their own sister. To murder Phoebe Halliwell, and place the blame on an innocent bystander."
Thunder suddenly boomed as a jagged flash of lightning streaked though the clear, cloudless sky. The people assembled in the courtroom stared uneasily out of the windows, muttering. Prue glanced at Paige, but her face was completely blank as she stared at Layton.
"It was their plan all along," Layton said, as everyone hung on his every word. "They wanted to execute the perfect murder, and what better way to do that than to bespell an innocent into doing their dirty work for them?"
"Why," he continued, gleefully, "they probably even used their magic to lure the SWAT team members away from their post at the van, so that the murder weapon would be easily at hand. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Alice Hicks was no more than a pawn. It's the Halliwells who should be on trial."
A dangerous rumbling shook the courtroom, and Piper clutched Paige's arm, startling her.
"If I have to keep my temper, so do you," she hissed.
Paige blinked in surprise, and the rumbling ceased. Shaking off Piper's restraining arm, she slowly stood up. But before she could say anything, one of the SWAT team members stood up.
"I'll admit we were negligent, leaving the van alone like we did," he said. "And that negligence cost a young woman her life. But we certainly weren't under a spell to leave."
"How would you know?" Layton asked, smoothly. "Have you ever been under a spell?"
"Yeah," the cop said, "as a matter of fact, I have. My kids have powers, and they think it's fun to practice on me."
"Would you care to elaborate, Lieutenant?" Paige jumped in, as a dumbfounded look came over Layton's face.
"There's a feeling you get when magic is being worked on you," the lieutenant said, obligingly. "And I didn't feel any of that at the Halliwell house. We were just a bunch of morons, that day, choosing to ignore orders. And I'll regret my choice for the rest of my life."
"If we'd been at the van, like we were supposed to be," he continued, mournfully, "Hicks never would have gotten that gun, and Phoebe Halliwell never would have died."
"Jackson is right," another cop spoke up, standing to join his partner. "We disobeyed orders by leaving our post, and Phoebe Halliwell paid with her life."
To Paige's amazement, and certainly, Layton's, the rest of the SWAT team stood up, one by one, to admit to their negligence, and to express their sorrow and regret. Layton looked astonished, seeing his case crumble before his eyes.
Then, the death blow was struck, as random people started voicing their opinions of the Halliwell sisters' relationship, and how Prue and Piper would never hurt Phoebe. They'd even die for her, they said.
"Order!" Winthrop snapped, banging his gavel. "Everyone, sit down and shut up!"
As silence descended on the courtroom, Winthrop continued.
"We will recess while the jury convenes to discuss their decision," he ordered. Then, he swept out of the courtroom, not waiting for everyone to rise.
"What just happened here?" Piper asked.
"Layton just had the rug pulled out from underneath him," Paige told her. "That's what happened."
"Did we win the case?" Prue asked.
"I don't know," Paige admitted.
XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX
Two hours later, court reconvened, to hear the jury's decision.
"Isn't that a good thing, that it went so fast?" Piper asked, noticing the worried looks on Paige and Cole's faces.
"Not always," Cole answered, grimly.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Winthrop said, once everyone was seated, again. "Have you reached a decision?"
"We have, your honor," the foreman said, rising. "Of the charge of first degree murder, we find the defendant, Alice Hicks, guilty."
The courtroom erupted as the sisters sank wearily back in their seats, letting out a collective sigh of relief.
"Is it over?" Prue asked.
"For us, it is," Paige told her. "There'll be appeal trials, but none of us need to be involved in them, thank God."
"Let's go home," Piper said, tiredly. "Is there a back exit we can use to avoid all those reporters?"
"No," Paige grumped. "We're just going to have to run the gauntlet."
Resigned, she stood, and led the way out of the courtroom. Cole fell in behind them, as a human shield, and they walked as fast as they could to their cars. Amazingly, the reporters ignored them, focusing, instead, on Layton, who walked out a moment later. Not pressing their good luck, they got in their respective cars and drove quickly off.
Fifteen minutes later, Piper parked her jeep in the driveway, and Paige pulled in behind her.
"Why do you think those reporters left us alone?" Piper asked, as they entered the foyer.
"Whatever their reason, it won't last," Paige said. "Now that the world knows you're witches-"
"They don't," Leo said, cutting Paige off and surprising them all. "No one knows that you're witches."
"How is that possible?" Prue demanded.
"It's what the Elders cloistered themselves away for," Leo said. "They were working on a way to fix the problem of exposure."
"And what did they come up with?" Paige asked.
"The Cleaners," Leo said. "They're neutral beings, created by a collaboration between Good and Evil, to erase the exposure of magic. In this case, they erased the memories of everyone mortal who knew."
"Everyone mortal?" Piper asked.
"Witches and other magical beings who knew still retain those memories," Leo clarified, "to keep this from happening again."
"These Cleaners aren't just a one-time thing, then?" Paige asked.
"No," Leo replied. "They're permanent. And the Elders have another message."
"Which is what?" Prue asked.
"They understand how Phoebe's death has affected you," Leo said. "And if the three of you want to give up your Charmed destiny, they won't stand in your way."
"They're just going to let us give up our powers?" Piper asked, suspiciously. "After they went to all that trouble to make sure we were still around."
"That's right," Leo said. "You two would give up your powers for good. Paige, you'd only lose premonitions. Your other powers would be unaffected, since they're not tied to your status as a Charmed One."
"Kitchen," Piper said, grabbing Prue and Paige's arms. "Time for a sister talk."
"What do you think?" Prue asked, once they'd shut the door behind them. "I mean, Piper, this is what you've wanted ever since we got our powers. And Paige, you didn't even get a choice in this."
"Whatever you guys decide," Paige said, but Prue cut her off.
"No way," she said. "This affects all of us, so it's got to be unanimous. We all have to agree."
"I think we should keep our powers," Piper said, surprising them. "If only to vanquish the Source, for Phoebe."
"I am getting pretty used to the idea of being a Charmed One," Paige admitted.
"Up to you, Prue," Piper prompted.
"Let's do this, then," Prue said, decisively. "Before we all change our minds."
Marching back into the living room, they stood before Leo.
"Well?" he asked.
"You can tell the Elders that they've still got their Charmed Ones," Prue said, as Leo looked surprised.
"And while they're at it," Piper added, "tell them to keep their noses out of our business."