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"You are back soon." Phoebe said as Paige and Aelithe reappeared in the room. Just a few minutes ago Aelithe had had a signal, which indicated someone was using magic. Normal use of magic didn't register with Aelithe, this signal, however, had been unusually strong. So she and Paige had left to see if there was some need for help. They had left without telling the others much. Leo had also felt something, but since it was none of his charges that were in need, he had stayed behind. But now Aelithe and Paige had returned, almost at record speed and Phoebe was naturally inclined to be curious. Paige glanced at Phoebe: "We found Brass, Dr. Grissom and Miss Sidle, no one else. But apparently we had just missed a man. Dr. Grissom has ordered us to leave; I think he was worried about Miss Sidle."
"Yes he was worried about her, but why? What happened before we got there? And who sent out the signal?" Aelithe was sure that there was more to what had happened then just what they had seen.
"I have no idea. I hope that they will call us." Paige said as she sat down on the couch, next to Phoebe who had the Book of Shadows on her lap. Phoebe looked up to Aelithe: "You are not sure who sent out the signal?"
"No, according to Dr. Grissom it must have been the man that had disappeared, but I also felt waves of magic coming from Dr. Grissom and Miss Sidle."
"So we are almost sure that they have magical powers?"
"Yes. I am sure they have magical powers." Aelithe stated, feeling that she was justified in saying that. Her powers of observation of Magic as a Guider had never failed her before, and she hoped they weren't about to start to. "What does the Book of Shadows show?"
"Well let's see." Phoebe opened the Book of Shadows and quickly found the page Aelithe had referred to. The blurry page was now a bit clearer. "Well the figure standing behind Dr. Grissom is Miss Sidle. Here look." Phoebe turned the Book so everybody could see. Phoebe was right; the figure was Sara, she stood to the right of Grissom, just slightly behind him, with her arms crossed in front of her chest. She whore a beautifully cut black, pinstripe suit, underneath the blazer she whore a red top which was cut into a point to her left side, leaving a small piece of cloth peeping under her blazer. The colour red seemed to connect her and Grissom.
"They look wonderful together." Piper commented.
"Look some writing has become readable. Love is the strongest emotion." Paige read.
"Well, apparently they have something to do with love. But the rest of the page is still blurry." Phoebe said, closely examining the page. "I hope we will hear from them soon."
"I think we will. But they need some time to figure things out, to come to their own decision to come for help. Otherwise it will be much more difficult to help them, we can't force them." Aelithe said as she accepted a cup of coffee that Piper gave her. That indicated that now they had to wait, so Paige grabbed her sketchbook and started to draw, Leo and Piper orbed out, saying they were going to check up on his and Pipers sons in the Magic School and Phoebe sat behind the computer to search the internet.
While Grissom parked his car he was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. Sara reached over and pressed the talk button. "Hey Brass." Grissom called out, after quickly having checked caller ID.
"Hey, Gil, how are you?"
"I am fine, thank you. I have just reached home and I am going to get something to eat and sleep. What is it?"
"How is Sara?"
"I am also fine, Jim." Sara reacted, because of Grissom's hand-free kit in his car. She could hear everything Brass said.
"Oh, hey Sara, sorry, didn't know you were listening with."
"Brass, why don't you tell us, what it is that is on your mind." Grissom knew that Brass was stalling.
"You need to talk to Aelithe, about what happened in the woods."
"We know, we had decided that already."
"Good. Have a nice dinner. I'll talk to you later." Grissom pushed the off button and took the cell-phone out of its cradle. Sara opened her door and went around back to grab their stuff out of the trunk, while Grissom opened the front door and waited for her to get inside the house.
After dinning Grissom unearthed the business card, he had gotten from Aelithe, from his bag. He turned to Sara: "Ready to do this?" Grissom asked looking into Sara's eyes he saw the uncertainty.
"Yes, I guess. I mean I'm not sure, but it is what we have to do. They can help us, so let's do this. At least we'll be together."
"Yes, we are." Grissom dialled the number on the card. He lowered his head, waiting for the other pone to be picked up. As that happened he raised his head and locked his eyes with Sara's. "Goodday, Miss Salome. I think we are ready to talk to you…Okay…Sure, no problem…We will see you then." Grissom shut the phone and said to Sara: "We are going to see them in eight hours, so we can get some sleep."
"Okay. Come on, let's get some rest." Sara turned and walked to their bedroom, but Grissom grabbed he arm and stopped her: "Sara, you are right: I am also unsure, I have never had to deal with something like this before, but we are in this together. No matter what happens, I love you."
"I love you too."
Aelithe replaced the receiver in its cradle and returned to the sitting room. "That was Dr. Grissom. He wants to talk to us. He and Sara are going to come in about eight hours. That leaves them some time to get some rest."
"Okay. Maybe we should also get some rest." Paige said as she closed her sketchbook.
"Where are Leo and Piper?"
"They are still in the Magic School."
"Okay. I am going to the shops, I need some things? Can I take something for you with me?" Aelithe asked as she grabbed her purse.
"Can I come? I would like to get out." Phoebe asked, as she shut down the computer.
"Sure, are you going to be al right here alone, Paige?"
"Yeah, no worries."
"Oh, one thing: if people come in, could you just ask them to stay, I am not going to be long. If they have questions explain them about the city, but make sure they stay here. I think that no one would come here, but just in case." Aelithe said as she walked to the hallway and grabbed her coat.
"Okay, see you soon." Paige was getting a bit distracted by what she was drawing, but had heard everything Aelithe had said.
Eight hours later the doorbell in Aelithe's house rang. "That will be them." Paige said, Aelithe got up and went to open the door. "Good evening Dr. Grissom, Miss Sidle."
"Good evening Aelithe. I hope you don't mind me using your first name?" Grissom had always been courteous. "It is just that it is the way that you were initially introduced to me."
"No it is all right. I am very glad that you are willing to talk to us."
"Please call me Grissom, I already gave you permission to use that name."
"And my name is Sara." Sara said as she shook Aelithe's hand and stepped inside the house.
"Okay. The Halliwell family is inside the sitting room. Would you like to drink something?"
"Yes, coffee please and for Sara too, right?" Grissom asked, while glancing at Sara, who nodded.
"Okay, here is the sitting room, I'll be with you in a minute, please make yourselves comfortable." Aelithe said as she indicated her sitting room. Grissom and Sara walked in and saw Piper, Phoebe, Paige and Leo sitting in the sitting room. Grissom and Sara greeted them and the other returned the greeting. Grissom and Sara both also gave the Halliwell family permission to use their given names. When Aelithe returned with the coffee, everybody got comfortable, sensing that this could take some time. It was a good thing that it was Saturday, so both Sara and Grissom didn't need to work. After some time the silence that had fallen over the group got uncomfortable, Grissom decided to move the conversation along: "So, where do you want to begin?"
"What made you chance your mind, about us?" Phoebe asked.
"It is what you showed us, back in the lab." Grissom responded.
"How did we manage that?" Paige wondered.
"Well, we are scientists, we like to see things. You showed us things that we don't understand, but you did them in our lab. A place that we know very well, there were no trapdoors or mirrors. A place you have never been in before." Grissom explained. Aelithe felt that there was more to it and decided to ask: "Was that the only thing? Or was what happened in the forest also important?"
"What happened in the forest definitely pushed us over the edge. But I like to leave that for later. Why don't we start were we left off back in the lab, with the Debbie Marlin case?"
"That is fine with me, but Dr. Grissom, please be honest with us. That is the only way in which we can help each other."
"It's Grissom, and I will be honest with you. What did you need to know about the Debbie Marlin case?"
"Why did that case obsess you, Grissom?" Aelithe asked, putting a slight emphasis on Grissom's name.
"Because the victim was Sara's doppelganger. It made me realise that I could lose Sara." That comment left the other women in the room slightly speechless. "You don't believe me? Here, take a look." Grissom produced a picture of Debbie Marlin from his pocket; he had anticipated this and took the photo from the file, just in case. He passed the picture to Aelithe, who along with Piper looked at the picture and had to admit, that this woman looked rather much like Sara. "I needed to get the man who had killed her, to find out why."
"Did you find out who did it and why?" Phoebe asked returning the picture to Grissom.
"We found who murdered her, but we couldn't get a conviction or even go to trial, because the evidence was circumstantial at best."
"Did you find out why he killed her?"
"I am not completely sure, but most probably because of jealousy. Miss Marlin had a relationship with her murderer, but broke it off for someone younger."
"Why was it so important that this woman looked like Sara? Why was the prospect of losing Sara something that you dreaded?"
"Because I love her." Grissom honestly replied. Phoebe, Paige, Piper and Aelithe shared some looks, a bit unsure of how to proceed. Phoebe took the leap and asked: "You and Sara are together?"
"Yes." Sara answered.
"Were you together when this happened?"
"No, not yet." Grissom said.
"Who was the murderer?" Phoebe felt that it was getting a bit too personal to Grissom's and Sara's liking. She knew they would eventually have to return to this subject of their love, but for now she could ask something that wasn't so personal.
"It was a doctor Lurie. And I would appreciate it if this name those not leave this room. Technically I am not allowed to give the name." Grissom still felt he needed to press the point.
"We know, that name won't leave this room." Aelithe assured Grissom. "but he did get away with it?"
"Yes." A few moments silence fell, giving the people in the room time to digest the information that they had gotten. Phoebe then resumed the conversation: "So this case was a highly emotional case for you, Grissom. How about you Sara?"
"Not really, although I did hear Grissom admit to the suspect that he couldn't take a chance for love for a new chance."
"Did you love him, during that time?" Phoebe gently asked, realising how painful it could be to hear that from someone you loved.
"Yes." Sara said: "Can I ask you a question now?"
"Sure, go ahead." Aelithe encouraged Sara.
"Why are you so interested in this case?"
"Well, as I told you I had a premonition of you two while you were on the Debbie Marlin case."
"But we were rarely together that case, just in the beginning."
"I saw Grissom coming out of the house and focussing on you." Piper replied.
"I thought that Phoebe had the power of premonition. How come you saw it?"
"Well, the premonition was very hazy, like a mist was hanging over it, so I couldn't be completely sure of what happened. But the Las Vegas sign was very clear, so we came here and Aelithe helped us from that point on. She had a spell that allowed them to look into my mind and see what I had missed. That is how Piper knew this."
"Okay. So why is the Debbie Marlin case important, why did you see us in the Debbie Marlin case, when there are so many other cases in which Griss and I worked together?"
"I have no idea; my best guess would be, because it was a highly emotional case."
"It was one of the many emotional cases we have had." Sara said. At that a small sigh could be heard from the other women in the room. "So that couldn't be it." Aelithe said: "Was there anything else that was special in this case?"
"Other than that I decided on that case that quadruple shifts were to be of the past, not something I could think off, now, anyways." Grissom told the rest and also Sara was shaking her head in a negative manner. Grissom suddenly questioningly looked at Piper: "How did you know that Sara and I met in San Fransisco?"
"I had one short premonition, that showed you two meeting there, in a lecture hall." Phoebe said. "Out of curiousity, how many years ago was that?"
"That would be about ten years." Grissom said, remembering that meeting, how beautiful Sara had looked and how she had asked so many questions, which were also insightful. He smiled at the memory. Sara saw that and asked him why he smiled, Grissom fondly looked at Sara and said: "I just remembered that meeting, you looked amazing and that ponytail was endearing. And the questions you asked! I felt like I had met my match. It is one of my favourite memories." Something in the way that Grissom was talking about that first meeting made Phoebe wonder about the love these people felt for each other and how long that love had been there.
"Since when did you know you loved each other?" Phoebe asked.
"For me it has been since that meeting." Grissom admitted.
"For me it is the same." Sara added.
Piper looked at Phoebe, feeling she was on to something. Piper could see that Phoebe felt the same way, she was completely focussed on Grissom and Sara when she asked her next question: "Does 1 Corinthian: 13 mean anything to you?"
"Ehm… Isn't that the verse on love in the letters of Paul, in the bible?" Sara said, looking at Grissom for conformation, which he promptly gave in the only way Grissom could: "Yes, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." That left the other people, except Sara, temporarily speechless.
"You know that from the heart?" Paige asked in awe.
"Eh. Yes."
"Wow." Paige said. "That is impressive."
"Thank you, but how is this going to help us any further?" Grissom was anxious to get back to the relevancy of said quote.
"Well in the Book of Shadows we recently found a page that refers to you. And on it was that quote." Piper explained.
"Wait, wait, what is the Book of Shadows?" Sara asked, a little confused by the name of the book.
"The Book of Shadows is a book that helps us in dealing with the magical world, it is like a manual or guide into the magical world. That is how we knew we were on the right track with you, Grissom. You see the page was blurry, as if someone had spilled water on it, but after we had talked to you Grissom, the picture depicting you became clear and after talking to Sara, her picture became clear. Here I will show you." Piper got up to get the Book, opened it and laid it down on the table, so that Grissom and Sara could take a look. They bent over to examine the page. Sara was the first to talk: "That is a nice picture of us, Grissom."
"I have to agree. But there is still a lot of writing unclear. Except this sentence here: love is the strongest emotion. What does that mean?"
"We have no idea. Could we perhaps discuss what happened in the forest?" Aelithe felt as if they had exhausted the other leads and wanted to know what had happened in the forest.
"Sure." Sara said and told the other people what had happened in the forest, she included everything and concluded with: "When you left, we decided we needed your help. According to this man we held a great power, but we don't know anything about it. You believe that we have magical powers, why?"
"Because I can feel them." Aelithe said in explanation. "You see, I am not only a witch I am also a Guider. That means that I am something like a mentor to people who either just found out that they have magical powers or people who by accident got magical powers from someone else. I introduce them to the magical world and guide them around, give them advice and help them to control their powers or teach them how to use them. One of the powers that I have in that capacity is that I can sense magical powers in other people. I felt them the first time I met each of you, but in the forest those came of you two in waves. That is why I asked whether you were sure that the magic must have come from the other man. You honestly don't know that you have magical powers."
"No, we honestly didn't know we had magical powers. But what powers do we have, if we have them?" Grissom asked, not completely confident, that what Aelithe was saying was correct.
"I have no idea." Aelithe admitted. "It is like we said earlier: we are not sure about what we are looking for or what is happening. That is why we wanted to talk to you."
"It didn't really help then? You still have a lot of questions, as have we. What else can we do?" Sara asked. She was met with a silence, everybody wondering the same things. Piper was the first to break the silence: "I think it is time to go and talk to the Elders. Leo could you?" she looked at her husband, who gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"Sure, I'll be back as quick as possible." With that Leo orbed out. Grissom and Sara still not really used to it, watched as he disappeared. Sara was the first who had overcome her speechless state: "Who are the Elders? Are you together? And is he a wizard?"
"Yes, we are married. No he isn't a wizard, he is a white lighter and as for the Elders, well since we have some time we can tell you about them." Piper answered with a smile on her lips. Piper told Grissom and Sara about the Elders and some other things about the magical world, with the help of Phoebe, Paige and Aelithe.
After an hour Leo finally returned. Piper gathered everyone in the sitting room, Aelithe had returned to her bedroom to take care of some other business and Phoebe was sitting with Sara and Grissom in the sitting room, while Piper and Paige had prepared some sandwiches, which were now carried into the room. When everyone was present once again and had a sandwich, they turned their attention to Leo.
"Well, with our additional information the Elders could tell me a bit more. It appears that you, Grissom and Sara, indeed hold a great Power. You hold the Power the Elders had lost track off." Before Leo could continue, Paige broke in: "What Power would that be?"
"The Power of Love."