Chapter 3 – Minority in the Middle (Aidan): Being a witch is fine. I mean, I'm not too fond of the feminine connotations inherent in the name, but what can you do? Wizards are a different breed entirely, and warlocks are evil. As a teenager, I went through a phase where I made my sisters call me sorcerer, and another where I insisted I was a mage, but I've grown since then.

However. Being a witch isn't so great when you're the only boy sandwiched between two sisters who shimmer into your living room uninvited. Like that day when I came home from work in a pretty good mood, because I'd just gotten a new contract, only to find Liv pacing my living room.

"Is there a reason you're here?" I asked, a little irritated.

"Yes, Aidan, and don't take that tone with me." Did I mention Liv is my older sister? It tends to make her bossy.

"I'm not a kid, Liv," I pointed out.

"I know that, but this is serious!" Her tone made me nervous, and I really looked at her, worried. Something had really unsettled her.

"Liv...?"

"Remember the whole thing about the Charmed Ones, us, and mortal peril?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, the mortal peril must be on the way, because I got a vision and we're going to be working with the Charmed Ones soon."

Oh. That explained the fear, and the anger under it. Though Liv being Liv, the fear explained the anger too. My big sister doesn't like being scared, and it tends to make her angry. "Right. So... now what?"

"Well, once Nikki decides to stop being a slut, we can get together and troubleshoot."

Speak of the devil... Nik chose that moment to shimmer in. My younger sister and my older sister are almost total opposites, and their looks seem to mirror that. Both are tall and slender, but Nikki has arrow straight white blond hair, and always looks like she's been sunning at the beach. Liv, on the other hand, has loose brown curls and burns really quickly in the sun because she's so pale. Me, I've got dirty blond hair and an average skin tone. I'm the middle child in every way, honestly. All of us have emerald green eyes, though, as much a Morgan inheritance as our powers.

"Oh, got your sex fix for the day?" Liv drawled. Nikki glared at her.

"Who died and made you the sex police?" Liv opened her mouth again, but I quickly stepped in. That would be the worst part of being a witch. Our greatest power, the Power of Three, is tied to our bond as siblings, and with two so opposing forces disguised as sisters, I have to play peacemaker. A lot.

"Um, Liv, Halliwells? Mortal peril? Ringing a bell? We kind of have to talk about that?"

"What?" Nikki said, distracted. "Aidan, what are you on about?"

"Liv had a vision, involving us and the Charmed Ones."

"Oh, the Cali bitches?"

"Nikki..." I said.

"What? I thought we hated them."

"Well, we can't now. Maybe it's time to let go of the Morgan tradition of holding a grudge against them," Liv said, looking less than happy about the idea herself. "Since we're going to have to play nicely if we're to work with them, and working with them is necessary to avoid mortal peril."

"Yeah, and about this mortal peril, what is it anyway?" Nikki said, flopping down on my couch. I sat next to her, and Liv took the other end.

"Well, no one really knows," I said. "Monica Calloway's prophecy was vague."

"Prophecies usually are," Liv added. "But we've got to do something. I've seen the Halliwell manor before, when I was in San Fran for that case, remember? I can shimmer over, talk to them."

"Will you be nice?" I asked her warily. Liv threw me a lopsided grin.

"I'll try," she said.

"Just don't talk to them like you talk to me, and you'll be fine," Nikki said encouragingly.

"You talk to me the same way, baby sister, so we're even," Liv retorted.

"OK, white flags, you two."

"Sorry," they said together.

After the plan was made, Liv and Nikki left, for San Francisco and class respectively. I was left alone, which is always what I long for when I get a sister invasion. But once they leave... well, it's just so quiet. And dull. I flopped down on the couch, turning on the TV and flipping channels, looking for something interesting.

"Why is it they drive me crazy when they're here, but I'm always bored once they leave?" I asked the walls. Luckily, they didn't answer. If they had, I would have had to check myself into a psychiatric ward. But it was true, despite the fact that the only ones I'd admit the truth to were my walls. My sisters drove me nuts, but they made my life interesting.

They were the only thing making my life interesting. Magic, aside from causing demons to hunt us, also makes relationships tough. So I was single, and unhappy about it. Nik had her boys, a new one every few days – college boys, what can you do? - and Liv had her... Nathanial. That was not a situation I cared to think on too closely. But I had no one at all, not even a casual friend-with-benefits. God, I was pathetic.

And brooding on a bad love-life was not exactly wise at the moment. I could worry about Liv being in the same room as the Halliwells without me as a mediator, sure, but that kind of thing would just give me an ulcer. Or I could begin strategizing about how we were going to handle this situation. Did we even have the faintest clue what the 'mortal peril' entailed? Was it your basic world-ending-in-flames Armageddon or something more subtle? And what, exactly, were six witches supposed to do about it?

Beiing a witch, it's fine. You have an excuse to go kill things when you get pissed – demon hunting's always a good deed, even when done for selfish reasons – and you get magic, which contrary to popular belief can be used for minor personal gain if you're careful. But sometimes, like when you're thrown a curveball that's going faster than that comic-book guy Flash and you're supposed to hit a home run with it, well, then, it really, really, sucks to be a witch.

A/N: So we meet the rest of the Morgans. R&R!