Healing Powers

Prue moved closer to her sisters. She had no idea what was going on, or how this man just appeared. The young man took in the situation. Victor was lying on the ground, his body starting to shake in shock. The three girls were staring up at him. Phoebe was sobbing, burying her face in Piper's shoulder. The middle child looked up at the man.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"You don't have to be afraid. I'm here to help," he assured them, bending down to their eye level.

"Is my Daddy going to be ok?" Phoebe hiccupped out.

"I promise I'm not going to let anything bad happen to your Dad, Phoebe," he promised.

Without another word he focused his attention on Victor. He laid his hands above the knife wound in the older man's abdomen and they began to glow a golden color. The breath caught in Piper's throat as she watched the miracle before her. Slowly the wound began to knit itself back together, as did the fabric of his shirt. A couple minutes later it was as if nothing had happened. Victor opened his eyes and looked around and began to sit up.

"Easy. Just sit up slowly," the younger man instructed.

"Who are you? How did you…where did the social worker go? I'm so confused," Victor babbled.

"Just relax, Mr. Bennett. My name is Leo," he introduced. Slowly he helped Victor to his feet and led him into the next room where he could lie down on the couch.

The girls moved collectively towards the couch where Victor lay. His head was propped up with a pillow and he still looked a bit pale. Phoebe was still sniffling softly and clutching Piper's hand. Prue kept looking between her father and this other guy, Leo. She didn't know what had just happened. One minute her father was lying on the ground, dying and the next he was walking around. Leo turned to face the girls.

"Girls, could you go get a glass of water for your Dad?" he asked. Piper was the first scurry off and get the glass of water. Piper brought it over to Victor and he willingly accepted it.

"So…how did you get into the house?" Prue asked, arms crossed over her chest as she eyed Leo.

"You don't have to be threatened by me, Prue. I'm here to help you," Leo responded.

"You didn't answer my question," the ten-year-old retorted.

"Well…how do you think I got in?" he answered with a question of his own.

"I don't know," she mumbled.

"He used magic," Phoebe announced, her tears now dried. As the last word registered in Victor's brain he sat bolt upright. It couldn't really be happening. They couldn't…be witches. Piper looked at her baby sister with a raised eyebrow.

"How'd you get that idea, Pheebs?" the eight-year-old questioned.

"I don't know," the five-year-old murmured. Leo could sense the tension in the room. He knew he had been sent to guide the girls. After all they were just children and had no one to show them the craft. Victor was now on his feet and trying to put himself between Leo and the girls.

"Stay away from my girls," he ordered, having to support himself on the edge of a chair.

"Victor, I'm here to protect them, to guide them," Leo protested.

"How do you even know they are…you know," Victor spat back. Leo turned to face thee girls.

"Because I've been watching them. Piper has already used her power," Leo began.

"I did?" Piper commented, sounding confused.

"When the room stopped moving," he prompted her.

"That was me?" she breathed.

"Well that doesn't mean…that Phoebe or Prue have them," Victor protested.

"No, that means they just haven't used their powers yet," Leo countered. Prue was starting to get annoyed with the arguing. She didn't know what was going on but she wanted it to stop.

"Just stop," she shouted and the chair Victor was leaning on moved a few inches, making him teeter for balance. Prue's eyes widened as she saw what had just happened.

"What can I do?" Phoebe questioned, feeling left out. Leo bent down to her eye level once more and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. As soon as she felt his hand touch her, she was pulled into a premonition. She saw Grams running on the stairs and the creature that had attack her father running after her. As soon as the vision came, it disappeared and she clutched Leo, breathless.

"What did you do to her?" Victor demanded.

"I didn't do anything. It was all Phoebe. She just had her first premonition," Leo explained. Phoebe's small frame was shivering in fear. Leo picked her up and held her close.

"Shh. I know it was scary but it's over now," he murmured, stroking her short dark hair.

"Is she ok?" Piper asked.

"She will be," Leo promised. After a few more minutes of ragged breathing, Phoebe was alright and Leo set her down again.

"So what happened to Phoebe?" Prue addressed Leo.

"Well…she can see things that have happened and other things that are going to happen," he explained.

"What did you see, Pheebs?" Prue asked gently.

"The scary thing that attacked Daddy. He was chasing Grams up the stairs," Phoebe answered softly.

"Girls, why don't you give Leo and I a minute to talk," Victor suggested. Without a word or even a disgruntled look, Prue took her siblings towards the stairs. Leo turned to face Victor.

"I don't want this for my girls," Victor sighed, sitting down.

"It's their destiny," Leo countered.

"That's what Patty said," he grumbled.

"You can't fight who they are. This is what they are meant to do," Le explained.

"She also said that," Victor added.

"So, what am I supposed to just let you come in here and take over my job?" he asked harshly.

"No. You're their father. I could never replace you. I'm just here to help them learn the craft, guide them on their path," Leo explained calmly.

"Don't tell me…you're a whitelighter," Victor snickered. Before Leo could say anything, Victor cut him off.

"They're the worst sort of people. They come in and ruin families. You have to be careful around them. You turn your back for just a second and they'll steal your wife," Victor ranted.

"Victor…I am a whitelighter," Leo finally managed to get in.

"Now you're just pulling my leg," Victor said, trying to deny what Leo had said.

"I'm afraid I'm not," Leo responded and disappeared in blue and white orbs just to make a point. When eh reappeared he narrowly avoided a blow to his nose.

"Forget it. They don't need your guidance. I will not have a whitelighter involved in my girls' lives," the father of three howled.

"I understand your mistrust, Victor. Believe I do. But not all whitelighters are alike. I'm not here to steal your daughters away from you. I promise," Leo tried to reason.

Upstairs Prue and her sisters were seated on her bed. None of them had said a word since Prue had shut the door. Piper was staring at her hands and Phoebe was swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

"So what you think they're talking about?" Piper finally asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't know. Victor didn't seem too happy about…whatever we are," Prue answered.

"You could call him Dad, you know," Piper muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

"So what are we?" Phoebe piped up.

"Freaks," Prue offered. She received a smack on the arm from Piper.

"Leo would know. We can ask him," the middle sister suggested.

"You like him," Prue teased.

"Ew…gross. I do not," Piper denied as Prue got up and opened the door. Piper and Phoebe quickly followed after her, not wanting to miss any of the action. Victor was glaring at Leo when the girls reappeared.

"Leo, what are we?" Piper blurted. Prue snickered behind her hand.

"What do you mean?" the whitelighter asked, a little confused.

"Well…you said we have…powers. Does everybody have powers?" she rephrased her question.

"You're witches, good ones," he explained.

"Do we have to wear silly hats?" Prue asked.

"No. You don't have to wear silly hats or fly on broomsticks," Leo assured her. She seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

"Is Daddy a witch too?" Phoebe asked. Victor tensed at the question. This was going to be a sore subject for a while he could tell.

"No, sweetie. I'm not. But your mother and grandmother were," he answered, sounding subdued. Phoebe looked at her father for a moment before running over and giving him a hug around the middle. He smiled down at her and gave her a pat on the head.

"So…that's why Leo is here. He's going to help you with all of this….witch stuff," Victor explained. He still didn't like the idea of his girls in the presence of a whitelighter. He couldn't get what ha happened between he and Patty out of his head.

"So if Mom and Grams were…witches too…what did they do? Did they know we were too?" Prue asked.

"You can explain this to them, I need some aspirin," Victor muttered and headed for the kitchen. The three girls all turned too look at Leo. He indicated that they should all sit down on the couch.

"Your Mom and your Grams knew that you were witches, yes," he began.

"And they knew that you would be very good at it," he continued.

"Even though they aren't here to see us," Prue muttered.

"They're still with you, Prue. Even though they're not alive anymore physically doesn't mean they don't live on inside you," Leo asserted.

"So what was that thing…what did it want?" Piper asked.

"Well…it's a demon," Leo explained, trying to state it in such a way as not scare the girls.

"Of course it is," Prue murmured under her breath.

"Does it want to hurt us?" Phoebe questioned nervously.

"It might. You girls are going to be very powerful someday and there will be demons that will try to hurt you. But right now, I'm here to protect you. All you have to do is call out my name and I will be there, ok?" he assured them. The trio nodded.

"So how about we go upstairs. There's something that I want to show you," he said and headed for the stairs.

"Upstairs…like the attic?" Piper called after him and he nodded.

"But…Grams doesn't let us go up there. The door is locked," she remarked.

"It's ok. I'll be up there with you," Leo promised and when they reached the top of the stairs on the third floor he pushed the door open as if it was open all the time. The walked in and he pulled out a trunk from beneath a shelf. He unlatched the lock and pulled out a very thick, very dusty book.

"What is it?" Prue asked, leaning over his shoulder.

"This is where your Mom and your Grams wrote down everything about magic. And about your family," he explained, blowing the dust off the worn leather cover. The triquetra adorning the cover was now visible. He sat down and girls crowded around him as he opened the cover, revealing the ornate cover page.

"Book of Shadows," Prue read aloud.

"Can we look?" Phoebe asked and Leo gave her a smile.

"Just don't read anything out loud. We don't want to cast any spells yet," he instructed them.

"Leo," Prue asked suddenly.

"Yes?" he responded.

"What exactly is it that Piper and I do?" she finished her question.

"Well…you can move things with your mind. It's call telekinesis. And Piper…you have the power to freeze time. There a big name for it but its much easier to call it freezing," Leo answered.

"Cool," Piper squealed. Prue tapped her chin for a moment and looked at the book. She willed the pages to move and as if on command a page or two flipped.

"I did it!" she exclaimed, just as Victor walked in.

"What did you do, Prue?" he asked, sounding uneasy.

"I used my power again. I turned the page," she answered, not caring that excitement was shining through. Leo looked over at Victor and gave a reassuring look.