Price Of Love– Mirandabelle

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Disclaimer: Charmed is the property of WB and Aaron Spelling Productions, and I do not own the actual idea or storyline.

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Summary: Three young witches all eager to fall in love little realizing that they're about to wind up in the middle of some pretty serious trouble! Max, James and Brendan, Prue Piper and Phoebe's new boyfriends seem too good to be true, and the feeling appears to be mutual until a premonition on Phoebe's part wakes them up and starts a very interesting ride, resulting in three broken hearts - but not to whom you might think.
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"Brendan, hey over here!" Phoebe called; the handsome man turned and walked over to where Phoebe and her sisters were standing with their dates.

"Ooh I love the feel of you in silk, babe." Brendan said as he hugged and kissed Phoebe, who was dressed in a burgundy silk dress, with a tight bodice, short knee-length skirt and lacy capped sleeves. Piper gagged quietly.

"Oh, umm Brendan, this is my sister Piper, and her date James."

"Hi." Piper said and shook hands with Brendan, as did James. Piper was dressed in an identical dress to Phoebe, except for the fact that it was powder blue; Prue sported a dress of green in the same style as her sisters. These dresses were the same as the one Phoebe had borrowed and it had been her idea that the sisters went wearing the same dress and Prue had got hers free after her one that had been untimely ruined was fortunately on a warranty. While Prue and Max were being introduced to Brendan and Phoebe, a waiter appeared and announced that their table was ready. The three sisters walked in holding hands with their dates, except Prue who helping Max along on his crutches slowly.

When seated and waiting for their entrees to arrive Brendan proposed a toast to the 'three most beautiful women in the world' and produced a long-stemmed white rose for Phoebe as did Max and James. This immediately made the three sisters suspicious and Piper declared a toilet break.

"Gee, you know James, I knew I should have gone to the loo before I came here. What about you two?" She motioned to her sisters.

"Yeah, I think I should put on my earrings." Phoebe stood up.

"Yes umm, oh dear." Prue's hand went to her mouth and accidentally smeared her lipstick. "I'd better fix that," she informed her date.

"Be back soon James, don't you worry." Piper kissed James on the forehead her sisters followed suit and trailed after their sister.

"I tell you, it's damned strange." Piper said scraping a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I know, I know. I mean three roses the same type, same colour from three suspicious men." Prue said through her lipstick-applying sister. "Sorry, Phoebe, you finished? I can put my own lipstick on you know."

" Yeah, I am and I do know that, but I put it on better than you do." Phoebe added a final touch of pink lipstick to Prue's pursed lips.

"Plus we've got to be suspicious three sisters in love at the same time, no love spells. Especially with our history of warlock-magnetism." Phoebe sighed as she put on a pair of sparkling earrings.

"Okay, let's just all act cool and get them back to the Manor ASAP. Oh and don't drink the wine now, it could have something in it now that they've been alone with it." Prue said as they left the bathroom. When they got back to the table the waiter was just placing their plates on the table.

"They can't have spiked that." Piper whispered.

While Prue, Piper and Phoebe were in the bathroom, Max, Brendan and James certainly were not bored.

"They believe us totally," Max said with an evil smile, "but let's make it interesting by adding a bit of love to the wine and food." The waiter was placing the plates on the table and each man pulled out a small velvet pouch and sprinkled a bit of shimmering powder onto the plates and into the wine. The air above the glasses grew red, then pink and dissolved from sight, the air above the foods acted in the same way.

"Now to let them think nothing has happened." Said James quietly.

"Turn back time let no one know that evil has been done.

Turn back time let no one know that evil has been done.

Turn back time let no one know the Charmed Ones' race is run"

The three men whispered their spell quickly, so that as the sisters returned form the ladies room, the waiter was placing the spiked plates on the table for the second time.

Phoebe focused on the road as Brendan talked about the assignment that they had been given in their 'Strange Phenomena' classes. "At least he isn't trying to kill me yet." She thought, "and I hope my vanquishing spell works, just in case."

In the back seat, Piper sat on James's lap as Prue and Max occupied the two other seats. Neither of the two men capable of driving had come in a car, both had caught taxis and when the witches had invited them home, there was a small dilemma as there would not be enough seats to hold all six people in Piper's five-seater car. The problem had been solved when Piper had willingly agreed to sit on James's lap and now all six people were headed back to Halliwell manor.

Once inside, Piper went to make tea with Phoebe who carefully lured Prue into the kitchen also by demanding she show her where the extra cups were stored.

"Now, we are ALL to stay on the first floor, because at least all of the rooms are accessible easily. If we go upstairs, it is not possible for us to get to each other's rooms in an emergency." Piper ordered as she brewed the tea. "It's simple, one in the conservatory, one in the lounge room and one in the second lounge room."

Piper continued in answer over Phoebe's demands of "Well, then what ARE we supposed to do?" Carrying a tray of teacups Prue lead the sisters back into the smaller lounge room, where the three men were waiting. She handed each person a cup of tea and according to his or her wishes added milk, sugar or lemon. She placed the empty tray on a table and announced, "Max, I think we'll stay here because there's really nowhere else you can get about easily on those crutches, so I'd be rapt if my sisters would leave us alone."

"No problem, come on James, there's a conservatory that way and it has a really comfy wicker couch." Piper said, taking his hand and leading him towards the mentioned room. Phoebe briefly explained that there was a much better, more comfortable lounge room through a doorway and wouldn't Brendan like to see it?

Prue was soon left alone with Max, who she cautiously helped onto the couch, and the minute she sat down next to him, he had his arms around her and forced his lips to hers. "Whoa," Prue said pulling away, "can we take it a little bit slower? I mean the last man I thought was in love with, just wasn't all he'd cracked up to be, so I want to get to know you better." Prue could clearly see Max's irritation, but she reminded herself that he was a warlock and wanted to kill her.

"Okay, Max, I've got a proposition for you, how about we talk for a while, and then make a few moves?" "Like vanquishing you." She thought afterwards as she settled back into her place on the couch, but increasing the gap between them. "How long have you worked at Bucklands?" She smiled as Max forced himself to answer her many questions in a civil fashion.

"Keep him busy, the less he thinks about killing me or kissing me the better." Prue told herself.

"Nervous?" Max asked her looking at her impatiently.

"Kinda," Prue told him.

"Well, I'm sure I can fix that." Max smiled at her. Prue wondered what he could possibly do, admit he wasn't a warlock and Phoebe had had a non-vision? Max leaned forward and kissed her slowly and gently. The ice in Prue's heart melted rapidly as they broke apart.

"That's what." She answered her own question, as she moved into his arms. Warlock or no warlock, Prue was going to make the best of it while she could.

Meanwhile, Piper was in heaven and positive that James wasn't a warlock, "Warlocks, are either too good to be true or totally unbearable." She told herself.

James wasn't perfect; in fact it had taken Piper suggesting eight different date times, for lunch or dinner, before they'd found a time when he wasn't working.

"If he's always busy, how can he be a warlock?" Piper asked herself. James sat with his arms around Piper, whose head was on his shoulder.

He leant down and whispered, "Piper, I love you." When Piper heard this she felt her blood pressure hit the roof as James slipped his hand into hers, his black skin contrasting strongly with her pale hand. Piper turned her face up towards James, he smiled at her, looking a little confused. Piper wondered if he'd kissed a girl before for the first time, if at all.

"Bring it into the conversation casually," she told herself. "So James, have you ever been on a date before? I can't help but notice you're a little nervous." "Okay that was not very subtle!" Piper thought crossly. James however, seemed unsurprised by her answer.

"Yes I have, but never more than one night, they don't like it if I can't always be around. We go on one date, I drive her home and she's out of the car before I can kiss her good night. Next morning she rings me up and dumps me. As if that's not enough, I never had a girlfriend in high school either, you're the closest I've ever been to a woman. Now you're gonna dump me, aren't you? Because I've never kissed a girl or anything."

"James, of course I'm not, I love you too, and I might just change your never-been-kissed history" Piper smiled at the nervous man, leaned forward and kissed him on his lips.

Phoebe wasn't in heaven like Piper and she was definitely not scared stiff like Prue, she was just plain happy. Brendan wasn't a demon, he had knocked over a vase, when he went to pick up the broken pieces of glass, he had slashed his finger and bled. As the pair sat on the couch, kissing she reflected on the fact that the three men had given the sisters the same rose was pure coincidence. Forgetting totally what Phoebe said, she told Brendan there was something she wanted to show him that she had found out for an assignment they had and lead him up to her room and locked the door behind them.

Piper was the next to fall into love so far that she forgot what she had said and like Phoebe, lead James upstairs, barely noticing the fact that Phoebe's lounge room was empty. "In here," she told James who was amazed that he had been kissed and now was even going so far as to see a woman's room. Not that Piper's room was particularly astounding, aside from the fact that she had strewn most of her clothes everywhere including several pairs underwear, ranging from all-purpose undies to black bits of lace. The sight of these made James blush, noticing his embarrassment, she swept these and other clothes off the bed and she and James lay down on the embroidered quilt and snuggled into each others' arms.

Next morning Piper woke up, James next to her, he stirred and the pair sat up. "Oh my god, Prue!" Piper realized that she had forgotten her sister and hastily explained to James that she had to do something and would return upstairs in a minute to dress.

Pulling on a dressing gown as she went, she met an equally flustered Phoebe, who rushed to Prue's room next to hers and opened the door; Prue and Max were asleep in bed. "I just remembered, I had a bowl of hemlock in my hand just as I had the premonition – Prue had a few poisoning ideas, don't ask."

"Hemlock often reverses spells or makes them react in different and worse ways than their original purpose." Piper recited remembering the passage in the Book of Shadows.

"Which makes it likely that it affected my vision so I think that perhaps Max is ok." Prue opened her eyes and mumbled something about her sisters never knocking and barging into people's rooms.

Phoebe explained to Prue what had happened and Prue vowed to get her sister back, "Even it is the last thing I do!" She promised as she rushed to her sisters for a three-way hug. "Well Piper, do your bit and we'll see if he really is a warlock," Prue said.

"No problem, got a pin?" Piper flicked her hands in Max's direction and just as the man sat up, he froze.

Prue walked over to him and stuck a pin into his hand, kissing his forehead as she did so, "he's not bleed… oh, he's still frozen." Prue joined her sisters in the doorway and again, Piper waved her hands at Max.

"Ouch!" Max drew is hand in suddenly as a deep red droplet appeared on his finger. "Prue, Piper, Phoebe where am I?" Prue smiled "I'll explain to Max. I believe you have left over dates as well. Now shoo!" Prue hustled her sisters away from the door.

"Rise and shine, love-of-my-life." Phoebe sang as she entered her room. Brendan stirred and pulled her down next to him on the bed.

"Good morning, Phoebs my love, have we got a class today? No of course not, it's Sunday, which means we'll have more time to ourselves, which means, I know this great coffee place we can go to for breakfast, they do wonderful pancakes."

" Not half as wonderful as mine though," Piper boasted, coming into the room, with a tray of her delicious apple-cinnamon pancakes. "I do breakfast in bed, Grams style." Phoebe remembered how, if the girls had been sick, their grandmother would make them apple-cinnamon pancakes and chamomile tea and then bring it up to them in bed. It was a great memory, and even greater when Piper made them, "there isn't any chamomile, though just coffee." Piper admitted, leaving the tray in Phoebe's room and going downstairs to fetch a tray for Prue and Max.

James appeared at the bottom of the stairs, as she was getting ready to return, clothed in his police uniform "I have to go to work, I'm sorry for rushing off though, I had a great time Piper, I'll call in after work."

"Come to the club," Piper instructed James as she kissed him goodbye. A taxi pulled up outside and tooted its horn. "That's my ride I'd better go." James hurried to the front door and left.