Okay, I think this is my favorite chapter ever. It doesn't have much to do with the Halliwells but I just loved writing it and developing the whole story. I think it was interesting writing it

One love story

The night was falling over the Ziudadelle but it wasn't the same as it had always been and at the same time, it was the same story that its habitants had lived for what seemed longer than eternity.

The circle formed by the same Elders than always seemed weaker than ever. Their faces were consumed and beaten but in their eyes you could still see why they were feared all the way to hell. The components of the circle stared at each other wondering who would have the best solution to the problem that they should have solved a long time ago. They were originally seven, however, there were just five at the table. Two were missing, the first one, fallen. The second one, killed.

The oldest of the eldest spoke first and his voice shook the entire ancient room. "We cannot let this get worse. We have to do something otherwise, all we have worked for will be destroyed" It was a woman, her skin was pale, almost totally white like a perfect rock. Her eyes were red and her hair was long and white. Her name was Cana, lady of the open field. "Ethan has already risked so much. He is out of control, we don't even know where he is. I believe that he is planning something and I don't think he would stop for anyone. He will risk everyone's freedom to…"

"Ag Cana! You always thinking about freedom and rights! No, no, we can't let the kid be anymore. We have to vanquish him before he kills another of us!" The Elder standing by her side said. He looked somewhat like her but his hair was as red as his eyes. His name was Xandrus and he was Cana's younger brother and the lord of the fire core."Do not underestimate the kid" he said.

"Hold your tongue" another elder said. This one was Aeum, Lady of the wisdom light. She was the oldest one and the most feared. "Ethan is too powerful to be killed, our only possibility is to bring him back to our side"

"He would never come back. I told you all. Holding him so tightly wasn't a good idea, it was never a good idea. We should have treated him as a kid not as bomb about to explode" the strangest of the elders said. Her name was Myst and she was often called the Lady of the frozen cove. Nothing further than the truth, there was nothing frozen within the youngest of the elders. Her hair was dark brown with little white stripes and her eyes were bright green.

"We won't listen to someone like you. You betrayed us once. How do we know you are not already betraying us again!" Xandrus said.

"For what I have been told, Xandrus, you are not much different…" Myst started to say.

"Enough" The man sat by Aeum said. He had long blond hair and looked somewhat like Logan. He stared at everyone and they looked away, knowing that they could never hold the elder's look. His gold eyes blinked and then he said with an unexpressive voice. "Whatever we do, we cannot lose the Charmed ones, that is why I have called their future whitelighter. We cannot lose any of the Charmed ones…nor the leader of them."

"Messala, who are you talking about?" Xandrus asked.

"Prudence, of course"

"Do you think is prudent to put our trust on her?. She is the one who has caused us the most problems." Cana asked.

"She is the most capable one" Aeum pointed out.

"She is also the weakest," Myst said. "Her emotions speak for her"

"Weak as you are, you mean?" Xandrus asked hauntingly.

"More like you" Myst said.

"Lets hear Leo first" Messala yelled over everyone else's voices and the room was drowned in silence again.

A much older Leo came in the room. He was a little scared and slightly shaking. He doubted that he was honorable enough to talk in presence of the Elders. After all, he had just been a whitelighter for nine years. Most whitelighters never got the see the elders themselves. He was rather lucky for that. He made a little reverence to the Elders and waited their permission to speak.

"Do you know why you are here?" Messala asked.

"Yes I do, milord"

"Don't call me Lord, that is a term reserved for the evil forces" Messala smiled but not laughed.

"Sorry…" Leo doubted whether he should call him sir. "I did not know. I thought that all the elders were lords and ladies"

"We are, but that is not the point" Aeum said losing her patience. "We need a favor Leo. One that only you can make us. We need Piper Halliwell in our side"

"She is not a Charmed one yet" Leo explained.

"She will be one soon" Messala said. "Are you aware of our situation?" Leo nodded and Messala continued. "Then you will understand why this is so important to us. We need the charmed ones. The three of them"

"What about Prue?" Leo asked.

"We are not sure about Prudence's fate yet. Her future is still too blurry, we don't know how she might end" Aeum explained.

"Isn't she a charmed one?"

"Originally she was, but again, we can only make conjectures about her fate. It doesn't seem to be clear." Aeum said.

"Will she die?" Leo asked worried, he already knew the entire story.

"We hope not" Aeum whispered. She really liked Prue but she couldn't say. She couldn't say that Prue Halliwell would not be alive at the end of the war that was to come. Prue Halliwell's destiny had been to die once, however, those days, everything was too messed up. "There are worst things than death Leo. We do not have any control over Prue, however we do have some over Piper…through you. Don't you live with her?"

"I do" Leo confirmed.

"Then, beware Leo. Ethan's plan is already bigger than we can think of, and he probably won't let the Halliwells get away. He knows more about them than we do, and again, in the case Prue turns against us…Piper will be the only one able to defeat the original oldest sister. After all, Piper is predestinated to be the most powerful of the charmed ones…" Aeum said with a dreamer tone. "We can expect big things from Piper but we all know that she can be persuaded…We need you to keep her by the right side"

Leo nodded. It was crazy; did the Elders really think that Prue would go against them? Second thought, she probably would but still, what could he do? Piper's relationship with her sisters wasn't too good after all. They barely saw each other anymore. Was it possible that the elders were right? Was there a war coming up? They couldn't use him to keep the charmed ones…He thought that maybe, just maybe, Prue was totally right about Ethan. He was about to leave The Ziudadelle with that thought in mind when someone called his name. Her turned around and saw her. Myst was running towards him.

"How did I do?" Myst asked with a smile.

"Your performance was incredible as always" Leo said but it wasn't a compliment. "When are you going to leave them?"

"When I find where my son is" Myst said.

"He is no longer your son"

"He will always be part of me. Even if I am not his birthmother." Myst pointed out. "I just hope everything goes alright"

"Do you even know how much of the future are we already changing?" Leo asked madly. She looked away. It was funny how she didn't act like an elder. "I loved him" she whispered.

"You can't love evil Myst. If they ever find out…"

"That's why I need the charmed ones! To protect me!" She cutt him off.

"They can't go against both sides! Don't you realize that when the source finds out about who Ethan really is he is going to be in danger? Don't you realize that our whole existence depends on his secret?" Leo yelled. "If someone finds out—and they will—we are going to be all scalded!"

Myst stared at him with tears in her eyes. "I need to talk to Prue," she whispered. "I need to tell her…" She needed to tell Prue, because the pain was too much to handle. She needed to take Prue why she needed to find Ethan and protect him, Ethan had so much good to do.

"You can't talk to Prue yet" Leo said. Myst nodded and watched how the whitelighter orbed. If the Elders knew, if the elders knew about her whole betrayal so many people would die. Too many people. That was why she needed the charmed ones, someone needed to protect her when everything came out. A betrayal about the forbidden love of the Lady of the frozen cove. It didn't make sense. Nothing did. She wished she had never met him, she wished she had never fallen in love but she did, she fell in love with the Source himself. A love that was still blazing in her heart. It is said that everyone has a soul mate, well, the Source was hers, even if he did not have a soul. Yes, she had wanted to confess, to yell to the world and to the elders that she had carried the Source's son once. She never told anyone, she never told him. She used her powers to 'pass' the child to another, a poor teenager. She used dark magic and therefore lost her right to call herself and elder, but in the end, Ethan was right, a world without good or bad would be a better world for everyone, even for the charmed ones. She had known about Ethan's plan since he started, she had helped him through all the process. She never knew who Ethan was, never until she met him at the court house, then she knew who he really was and followed him. In the beginning he hadn't trusted her but after a couple of years, she was sure of where her loyalty was. She was no longer an elder and even though she had thought about leaving, she knew that she would work as a spy to serve the only son she had. To serve a purpose beyond everyone, but she needed someone, she needed Prue because if they could only have Prue they would surely win the battle. She did know something about Prue's future, she knew that Prue was predestinated to conceive a child that none of the elders would want to have around. She knew that the elders wouldn't like any of the charmed ones' children hoping around because they would simply be much more powerful than any elder and would occupy their places in the Ziudadelle. The elders knew but they did not want anyone else to know, however, Myst thought that power called to power and that the elders were already too corrupted. She knew that the future had to go the way it was, she knew that the elders' desire to keep their powers would destroy them and personally, she would cross her arms and wait until it happened.

"I missed you Piper!" phoebe run to hug her sister who was holding a big box of tissues. Piper hugged her younger sister and said. "It is so good to see you after all this time! Are you staying at my house?"

"Hem…No, actually I reserved a hotel room…I didn't want to bother you guys, especially since you just moved in together…where is he by the way?" Phoebe asked.

"Leo? He is at work" Piper explained. "He is a doctor you know?"

"Wow!" Phoebe laughed. "Lucky you"

"Yeah, I think I am in love…" Piper said walking in the kitchen.

"Nice place" Phoebe said staring at the huge apartment her sister had, just like hers, a kick-ass apartment. "So how is the club going?"

"Pretty good"

"And it is called…?"

"I called it the Oracle" Piper said. The name just popped into my mind and I thought it would be great. Today a band is playing, I hope they bring clients…"

"Who?"

"I don't even remember their name. They sing something like 'I am the son, I am the heir…of whatever…' they are kind of old but oh well, the tickets are almost sold out…already" Piper laughed. "So how is your work going?"

"Good. I really enjoy it…"

"What about Prue, do you keep in touch with her?"

"Yeah, well not really. We both are busy…what about Paige?
Piper laughed. "No boyfriend, she teaches at San Francisco Elementary"

"Really?" Phoebe was surprised. She never thought that one of the Halliwell sisters would go to San Francisco elementary again, they didn't have a 'good' childhood. "Is she enjoying it?"

"Oh yeah" Piper was going to talk Phoebe about their mom's death but the phone rang and she didn't get the chance. It was Leo. Piper came back a few minutes later with a somewhat pale voice and said. "It was Leo, he won't be here for dinner. They found an assaulted woman and she died while he was treating her so he was to do paperwork. What a bummer." Piper explained ignoring how much relevance that event would have in her near future.

Andy was holding his wife in his arms, nothing would make him happier than that single moment in which Prue would curled in his arms and sleep really close to him. According to him, feeling her heartbeat was the best thing in the world. He would not change it for anything. He stroked her hair gently and kissed her shoulder and she wrapped her arms around him in her sleep, as if she was trying to keep him, the closest she could. Andy thought it was a sweet thing until he realized she was crying again. Prue would shake in his arms sometimes, even scream but never, never cry. Prue never cried in a nightmare so he decided to wake her up.

"Honey" he whispered. Prue woke up instantly with her eyes wide open and realized what had just happened. "Wanna talk about it?" Prue gasped and smiled. "It was nothing" she said but she was obviously lying. She kissed him softly as if she was making sure he was alive and Andy kissed her back, then, he felt her body temperature and realized that she hadn't gotten any better.

"We should take you to the doctor," Andy said.

"I feel fine" Prue argued. "Seriously, I am. It is just a fever"

She was fine, it was true, but she couldn't tell him why she wasn't completely fine. She didn't get enough sleep, she had had been having nightmares and they only got worse, as if they sucked all her energy. She felt a little dizzy and Andy noticed. "Prue!" he grimed.

Prue kissed him again, this time more passionately but this time he pulled apart. "I'm sorry" he said. "But you have to go to the doctor."

"I am fine" she laughed.

"You don't get it. You are going to the doctor, period. I'll use my handcuffs if I need to. I will Prue!" Andy said seriously. Prue jumped on him, even if she just felt like sleeping and nothing else, she didn't want Andy to know that she wasn't alright. She kissed his neck and Andy moaned. "I have a better idea for your handcuffs," she whispered. "Damn, she is doing it again!" Andy thought knowing that he couldn't resist Prue when she did that. Then he felt how hot Prue was. He sat up and held her in his arms.

"Enough Prue. When you are fine I'll be the one who will be begging for wild sex but until then, you are going to the doctor and that's it" Andy said almost arguing. They had never argued since high school, all because they respected each other, they told everything to each other, however, something was changing. Prue stared at his eyes with her melancholic look and smiled weakly. Then, she got off him and sat by his side. She had started to sweat. "The doctors have nothing to do with it. They can't help me"

"It is magic?" Andy asked.

"I don't know," she said.

"What do you think it is?" Andy asked again, wrapping his arm around her to make her feel safe. It worked, it always did.

"Ethan. It has to be him" Prue explained, not believing she was talking to Andy. She told Andy everything, everything but the fact that he was going to die and he had just a year. She had a year to save him.

"Tell it to me Prue" Andy finally said. He had noticed something. He knew that Prue was hiding something big. "Are you pregnant?" he suddenly asked.

Prue laughed and touch his face, then she locked her eyes with his and said. "No Andy, I wish it was that"

Andy smiled and stared at the wall. "Me too" he suddenly said.

"You want a child?" Prue asked. She had always seen Andy trying to teach how to play football to their child, no matter if it was a boy or a girl. It would probably be a girl but she knew that that wouldn't be a problem for Andy, he would try to teach her how to play football anyway. Although she wished she had a kid she knew that it was too dangerous and too complicated, and behind those vain excuses she was scared because she thought she would be a good mother. After all, she never had one, she never had a good one anyway.

"Yeah. It would be great to have a mini Prue running around trying to cast a spell on me, or a mini me shooting around in a cowboy suit" Andy dreamed. "Wouldn't it be great?"

"No. I hated that suit" Prue laughed.

"Are you kidding me? It was awesome!" Andy remembered. "It was better than your attitude anyway"

"What attitude huh?"

"Your kick-butt attitude. You always had to be better than me! I bet you even cast spells on me all the time!" Andy picked on her.

"Actually Piper did"

"Damn! You never told me that!" Andy laughed.

They both laughed remembering when they were kids and nothing mattered. They would spend afternoons and afternoons playing their games, acting in the living room. She wished she was a perfect princess. He wished he was cowboy, someone important in the good side. Then, the middle school years came and she became interested in cheerleading. He became interested in football and before they noticed, they were dragged in the same universe of sports and popularity. They never cared, to them; it seemed like one more afternoon together. Soon, they started high school and the playtime became study time but they were always together, always. How many times had they helped each other in the classes they did not understand? Millions. Before they noticed, a flame between them was burning and they couldn't help to desire each other, all of the sudden, the study time became more like another kind of playtime. The adult kind of playtime. During their years at USF they grew closer and closer, until they were pretty much part of the other's soul.

"What would you rather, a boy or a girl?" Prue asked.

"I don't know. I wouldn't care, I mean, it would be my child, our child, that is all that matters" Andy said. "But I'd like both! A boy and a girl!"

Prue smiled warmly and said, "Maybe one day"

"Yeah" Prue kissed him tenderly and he remembered about her being sick. "Are you sure that you don't want to go to the doctor?"

Prue nodded.

"You know what?" Andy asked. "If it was a girl, I'd like to call her Nicky."

"Nicky?"

"You don't remember?"

"Should I?"

"You used to ask people to call you Nicky"

"Really? I guess I forgot. What about if it is a boy?"

"I don't know…"

"I think Shane would be a cool name" Prue said "I have always liked that name"

"Will we have children anytime soon?"

Prue nodded, "I promise"

The phone rang and it was Prue who picked it up. "Prue!" It was Paige and she sounded nervous and hysteric. "You've gotta come!" Paige yelled.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"There is kid, he refuses to talk and he has bruises all over his back. He is in fourth grade, he is probably like nine or something. He has just moved and…" "I'm on my way" Prue said ignoring Andy's look. She hanged up and got in her jeans. She didn't need to hear more to know that the kid Paige was talking about was Ethan, little Ethan. The Ethan she had been looking for.

"Are you leaving?" Andy asked indignant. Prue grabbed his face and kissed him passionately. "I'll see you tonight. I really have to go"

"You are sick!" He said grabbing her arm. "You are not going anywhere"

"Andy" Prue said with a smile and her eyes wide open. "If this works out fine, I won't be sick much longer and everything will be over"

Andy shook his head.

"Remember when we were teens and you told me that if I didn't talk to you I wasn't your girlfriend but your whore and I told you that I couldn't be your whore because I loved you. I still do. So just please, wait for me okay? I'll explain to you…everything" Prue said.

"Is there more to explain?" Andy asked. He remembered that day well, it had been one of the best days in his life and also one of the weirdest ones, he had felt that he was connected to Prue at last. She had been scared but glad that she finally shared her secret.

"A little" Prue confessed

"Fine" Andy said. "I love you"

It didn't take very long to Prue to get to the Elementary School. All the kids were at lunch time and Paige was in her classroom, sitting at her table staring at the nine-year-old Ethan. As soon as Prue walked through the doors, she locked her eyes with his. He was wearing clothes that were way too big for him and had his arms crossed. He stared at Prue and then looked away. Prue couldn't help but laugh.

"What happened?" She asked her youngest sister.

"He hasn't said a word since he came here and a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about their families and he broke into tears. I have tried to contact his parents but they are no longer …there. I mean, I called his home phone and no one answered and then I called his mom's work phone and someone told me that she had quit a month ago!" Paige said. "He has probably been alone for weeks!" Prue nodded and stared at him. She had had seen those cases in her work, abused kids who refused to talk….She sort of knew how to handle it but it wasn't going to be easy…She felt bad for him and bad for herself but finally, she was glad she had found him. All the motherly instincts that she had buried when Ethan was gone came back. She walked towards him nor sure about what to say or what to do. He looked so fragile, so cute, and so tiny. She couldn't believe how someone could do something like that to a child. He looked so sad. His eyes were almost dead just like the old Ethan's eyes. She wondered how much time takes to an assassin to become one, maybe a life time, or maybe, just a few hours, maybe even a second. It was an scary thought that broke her heart.

"Hi" She said sitting next to him. "My name is Prue"

He gave her a furious look but it seemed to get weaker. He looked away and Prue felt all the madness, all the anger held within the little kid. All the confusion and the lies, the pain, the regret, all those feelings that were destroying her. She didn't quite understand how she had bonded with Ethan initially but that time she realized. She realized that she was meant to bond him just in the same way she was meant to be with Andy. She wondered if Andy would care to have a kid called Ethan.

"Wanna talk to me?" Prue asked again stroking his hair. Ethan shook his head. "Why not?" She asked in the sweetest voice she could.

"Cause adults are mean," Ethan said in the same way a teenager should have said.

"Oh, I'm sorry" Prue said smiling while she grabbed his hands. She knew that contact was the most important thing in those cases. She was crying inside and Ethan knew it, he knew that he could trust her but he didn't get why. "What is your name?"

"Ethan" He said silently, he still avoided her eyes.

"Where is your mommy?"

"I don't have one. She says she is not my mommy and she hits me because I am bad" Ethan said without thinking. Then, he stared at Prue who was fighting tears and added "I'm sorry…don't hit me please…"

Ethan got really upset and tried to get up but Prue was faster. She held him on his chair and he started to sob. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry" Prue couldn't help but remember the old Ethan and his desperation. She wondered if she was late again, no, she couldn't be late again. She had to save him just the way he had saved her.

"I am not going to hurt you" Prue said and hugged him. "Okay?"

"Okay. I don't want to talk"

"Why not?" Prue thought she had gained his trust, but it looked like it wouldn't be so easy.

"Because…"Ethan hesitated and then whispered. "I'll tell just you but not here" Prue smiled and nodded.

Paige who saw what was to come said "Oh no, you are not taking him home are you?" Paige started to freak out. "No, no. Absolutely not. No way." Paige kept shaking her head while Prue started to grabbed Ethan's stuff. "You are kidnapping him!" Prue ignored her and helped Ethan to put his coat on. "Prue! His mother…"

"My mom is not coming anyway!" He angrily said. "She is not at home!"

"You live alone?" Paige asked stunned.

"I have a fish!" Ethan defended himself, then he turned to Prue. "Can we pick him up in our way?"

"Sure we can" Prue said grabbing his backpack.

"Prue…you could go to jail!" Paige whined. "Please Prue…" Paige stood by the door blocking her big sister's way. She didn't like to go against Prue but sometimes she could be really irrational.

Prue turned to her and said almost yelling. "Look Paige, I don't give a shit about the law. This kid is being abused; he is nine years old and lives alone. ANY judge of the planet would give me the reason…so please, get out of my way" Prue and Paige locked their eyes with each other's and finally, the strongest one won. Paige got out of the way and muttered something like, "You are making a mistake"

However, Prue couldn't help but stare at Ethan's eyes that were shining of gratitude and lost love. She held his hand tighter and told him. "Everything is going to be alright" secretly, thanking god or whoever was listening for Ethan's innocence.

Okay, the stupid guy I live with but he cannot be possibly related to me has gotten a new stupid videogame and the nerd is going to be playing around 8 hours a day, no exaggerating, he can do it…It makes sense that he is almost blind, boy,…Anyway, I don't know when I'll be able to continue the story. I am working on it like every free second I have but to find a computer…that is a whole different story. Anyway, thanks for the reviews! I luv you guys so much!

peanut2lb, yeah Ethan and Bane are working together. I figured that Bane's thirst for power would match pretty good with Ethan's! I'm glad you liked Andy, I am trying my best to describe him the sweetest I can because things will get pretty bad.

PrueTrudeau Im glad you liked the Prue and Andy bit. I think it was so cute too. When I was done with it I thought 'wow, I want my bf here!' lol. Thanks for the long review and yeah, Ethan has changed. He is going to be like the little bad guy in this whole thing but I actually feel sorry for him. Will he change? Read and find out! I love Ethan, seriously…

Random3, wish granted, little Ethan is in and is going to rock Prue's world again! I am glad you liked it! I am sorry I couldn't read your new chapters yet! I haven't had the chance to sit down and read! Damn it! Cuz I love your ff.

emelie172 I m glad you liked it! Everyone seems to be enjoying Ethan. I hope you like Little Ethan too!.

Thanks a lot for the reviews!