Author's Note (2013) : I forgot to mention in the first chapter that the Hellmouth will be in San Francisco. That will give some leeway of adding some of the BTVS story to this. Which also means Xander, Willow, Giles as well as quite a few of the other BTVS characters will be seen in this story. In fact the next chapter in this story is Welcome to the Hellmouth, the BTVS series premiere.
Atlas (2013) - Dawn will eventually appear but don't expect her for quite a while. We're in season 1 of BTVS and season 1 of Charmed. Dawn didn't show up till season 5 of BTVS so it will be awhile before she's added to the story. - (2022 addition) - She does have a cameo in Morality Bites.
Chapter 2: I've Got You Under My Skin
March 3, 1997 - Monday
Quake
Phoebe pushed through the crowd heading to the bar where Buffy was sitting and drinking a soda. Buffy looked up and waved her over. Phoebe nodded and almost ran into a couple entering the restaurant because she had been focusing on Buffy instead of her surroundings.
"Oops… Sorry," Phoebe apologized and the couple smiled at her as they walked by.
Once through the main crowd, Piper intercepted her looking frustrated and nervous. "I'm gonna kill him," Piper muttered, throwing her hands up dramatically. She grabbed a bill folder off a table and walked toward the cash register and Buffy.
"Who?" Phoebe asked, glancing around in confusion before she followed Piper.
"Chef Moore. He with the phony accent hires me and then quits to open his own place. Thank you very much," Piper ranted going behind the cash register as Phoebe took a seat next to Buffy.
"She's been talking about nothing but him while I've been here," Buffy whispered under her breath as a warning to Phoebe. Since she had yet to be enrolled in school, she had taken to spending the day with either, Prue, Piper or Phoebe. Today was Piper's turn.
Prue, Piper and Phoebe understood of course why Buffy spent the day with them. After all it had only been a week since Joyce had passed away and Buffy was not only in the process of grieving but also afraid of losing someone else. Especially after Piper revealed that Jeremy had been the one to kill Joyce.
Phoebe nodded slightly to show she heard and watched Piper swipe the card that she pulled out of the bill folder. "I don't see any customers complaining," she pointed out as a compliment to her stressed older sister.
"Hello! I am not a restauranteur. I am a chef. I have no idea what I'm doing!" she hissed and then looked at Buffy pleadingly. "Can you take this back to number four?" she asked her cousin, placing a receipt in the bill folder and passing it to Buffy.
"Sure, Piper. If you will point which one that is," Buffy agreed, Piper motioned at a table and Buffy took it disappearing into the crowd.
Piper suddenly narrowed her eyes. "Is Buffy wearing my dress?" she asked, her voice rising slightly.
Before Phoebe could answer another young woman with curly blonde hair walked up and took Buffy's seat. "Hey, Britney! Ooh. I love the tattoo," Phoebe complimented, taking Britney's hand to get a better look at the angel tattooed on the back.
"Oh, thanks," Britney acknowledged, waving at Piper with her other hand.
"I thought it was illegal to get them on your hand because of the veins," Phoebe stated.
"In the States, yeah, I got it done in Tahiti," she explained, handing Piper some cash. "Oh keep the change, Piper. I gotta jam," she added cheerfully.
Phoebe waved farewell and Piper nodded. "Okay. Say hi to Max," Piper wished as Britney retreated.
Buffy came back up, looking disgruntled. "I don't see how you work here, Piper. These people are so rude!" she complained, dropping heavily back down in her seat.
Piper waved over a waitress and handed another bill folder to her. "Table nine please," she instructed and the waitress left. She took a deep breath and turned to Buffy. "Should I beat anyone up?" she asked. Buffy shook her head and Piper looked relieved. "Good. I don't think I have time," she added jokingly before glancing at Buffy. "Are you wearing my dress?"
Buffy sighed. "I guess I should have asked, shouldn't I?" she asked. "It look good on me though, don't you think?"
"That's not the point," said Piper. "You should have asked. Not that I really mind, and yes, it looks good on you."
Phoebe wasn't listening to Buffy and Piper as she looked to her right at a handsome man sitting alone at a table. She was immediately thrown into a premonition.
Alec stood up and approached Phoebe, sitting down beside her and offering to buy her a martini.
Phoebe grinned to herself and got the attention of Piper and Buffy. "See that poster boy to your left Piper? Buffy your right?" she asked. Piper looked to her left while Buffy looked around Phoebe to get a better view of him. "Just glance… don't be obvious," she snapped softly.
Buffy and Piper immediately looked away as casually as they could. "Yep…" Buffy murmured a small smile crossing her features.
Piper nodded slightly. "I approve. Who is he?" she asked, glancing again back at him.
"His name is Alec and he's about to come over and ask if he could buy me a martini," Phoebe replied eagerly.
"How do you know that?" Buffy asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"Let's just say I've solved the age old problem of who approaches whom first… I had a little premonition," she gloated, running a hand through her hair self-consciously as she awaited her foreseen meeting with Alec.
"Way to rub it in, Phoebe," Buffy pouted. "I still haven't gotten my power yet."
"Sorry, Buffy," Phoebe apologized.
"Phoebe! You're not supposed to use your powers. We agreed," Piper hissed, crossing her arms.
"No… you and Prue agreed. I abstained and Buffy dodged. Besides, it's not like I can control it. It just popped into my head," Phoebe countered defensively.
"That's the point! None of us can control our powers. That's what scares me. I could panic and freeze the entire restaurant," Piper replied, throwing her hands up pointedly.
"Shhh… here he comes," Phoebe hissed, trying to act casual. Piper went back to play with the cash register and Buffy took another sip of her soda.
Alec approached and waved at Piper and Buffy before getting Phoebe's attention. "Hey, I was just sitting over there and was wondering if I could buy you a martini or something," he offered hopefully.
Phoebe smiled seductively and glanced at Piper and Buffy knowingly. "Martini hmm? Imagine that. I would love one," she agreed, getting to her feet. "It's Alec right?" she asked, feigning ignorance. Piper and Buffy exchanged a glance and turned away.
"Yeah, how'd you know my name?" Alec asked in surprise.
"Wild guess," Phoebe got to her feet and lightly pushed Alec toward the table he had been sitting at. Before she left she turned one last time to Piper and Buffy.
Piper glanced over and grabbed her hand making her listen. "Prue is going to be pissed," she warned and Phoebe shrugged it off.
"News flash… stop worrying, you'll get wrinkles," Phoebe retorted. "Both of you," She added as an afterthought with a glance towards Buffy.
"Who said I was worrying?" Buffy muttered indignantly and crossed her arms.
March 4, 1997 - Tuesday
Andy's Apartment
Prue carefully slipped out from under Andy's arm and silently reached for an old sweater that she slipped on. She tiptoed around the bed to grab some of her clothes and glanced up at a sleeping Andy. She bit her lip uncertainly but continued to gather her things. Carrying her high heeled shoes in one hand and a dark blue dress in the other, she headed for the door of his bedroom and beyond that the door to his apartment. As Prue reached the door of his bedroom, she froze as Andy groaned softly and switched positions. Again she glanced back uncertainly, but, nevertheless, continued toward the door. She hadn't gone another step when Andy's alarm clock started beeping loudly. "Damn," she thought and frantically narrowed her eyes at the device and sent it flying out the window. Without further ado she left as quickly as she could without making any noise.
Behind her, Andy reached out to turn off his alarm clock only to land on the end table. A moment later, the door of his apartment could be heard being shut, the sound echoing through the silent apartment. Andy sat up in bed quickly realizing that she was gone.
"Prue?" he called out although he knew she had already left. With a deep sigh, he grabbed his pillow and lay against it to think before getting ready for work.
The Halliwell Manor
Piper was in the kitchen watching a documentary about witches during the Salem Witch Trial while whisking some eggs for breakfast. As she watched, Prue and Buffy walked from the conservatory and glanced at the T.V. in surprise while Buffy opened the refrigerator.
"Morning," Prue and Buffy greeted and Piper echoed while hurriedly grabbing for the remote and switching off the T.V.
"What are you watching?" Prue asked curiously as Buffy pulled the milk out and set it on the counter.
"Nothing… just a show," Piper answered hastily, somewhat embarrassed to be seen watching the documentary.
"About witches? Are you worried we're going to be burned at the stake?" Prue asked teasingly, smiling softly.
Piper forced a laugh and tried to look nonchalant though it didn't fool Prue. "Yeah right…" she offered anyway and then switched the topic to Prue. "By the way, Andy called."
Prue suddenly looked nervous. "When?" she asked carefully while pouring herself a glass of milk.
"While you were in the shower," Piper answered.
"What did you tell him?" Prue demanded, glaring at her sister.
Piper appeared taken aback by Prue's attitude. "That you were in the shower," she replied, as if it was obvious, which it was. Prue nodded awkwardly, appearing relieved.
"Bad date?" Buffy questioned, watching her cousin carefully for a hint of a lie.
"No… No, No, not at all. It was great. You know. Dinner, Movie…" Prue protested and then trailed off, biting her lip to keep herself from saying it.
Neither Buffy or Piper needed Prue to speak it to know what had transpired.
Buffy smiled at her cousin, she was happy that Prue had managed to have a normal life at least for one day. "Way to go, Prue," she said.
Piper on the other hand was clearly surprised. "You slept with him? On your first date? You sleaze…" Piper responded loudly. "Spill," she prodded eagerly. Prue cast her a frustrated glance while Buffy grabbed her cup of milk and walked out of the kitchen. Prue got up and followed. "Ooh… that bad?" she asked, following.
"No, that good. It was… well we were amazing, but that's not the point. I told myself things would be different. That we would take it slow. It just shouldn't have happened, that's all," Prue tried to explain but it was difficult because of the conflicting emotions. Piper and Buffy glanced at her in sympathy but before they could respond Phoebe came walking down the stairs to join the conversation.
"What shouldn't have happened?" Phoebe asked curiously.
"Prue slept with Andy," Buffy filled Phoebe in quickly without turning to look at her.
"Way to go, sis!" Phoebe added as if she thought it was a sign of the apocalypse or something.
Prue could have slammed her head against the wall in frustration. "Thanks a lot, mouth," she muttered, picking up the newspaper from the end table.
"Wait. You were going to tell Buffy and Piper, but not me? Family meeting!" Phoebe replied acting hurt.
Prue hastily changed the subject. "Speaking of last night. What time did you end up rolling in?" she demanded, glancing at Phoebe.
Phoebe glared at Prue and shook her head. "No, no, no, no. Do not change the subject," she argued, following Prue as she turned to sit down in the solarium.
"Don't dodge the question," Prue shot back.
"It must have been at least after three. Right, Buffy?" Piper spoke up, enjoying her role in this conversation. Buffy grinned and nodded in confirmation.
"I must still be in New York time," Phoebe offered defensively.
"Actually that would make it later…" Prue returned, smiling at her sisters' lie.
"Or maybe you and Alec…." Buffy brought up glancing at Phoebe slyly.
"Who is Alec?" asked Prue with confusion.
"Alec is this hottie that she hit on at the restaurant," Piper explained.
Phoebe glared at Piper who just shrugged and smiled innocently. "Excuse me. Where vision is history, he hit on me. Remember the whole vision thing," she pointed out calmly.
"Vision thing?" Prue asked in annoyance and glanced at Piper in confirmation. She let out a deep sigh. "Phoebe…" She began. Buffy glanced at Piper and Piper shook her head.
"Don't put me in the middle…" Piper protested.
"Technically I'm not. You were born in the middle," Prue responded cheekily. "Look, I thought that we agreed." She turned her attention to Buffy.
"I don't want to be in the middle any more than Piper," Buffy protested. "And you agreed I didn't. As Phoebe said last night. You and Piper agreed, Phoebe abstained and I dodged."
"No… we didn't. You and Piper agreed. Buffy and I didn't. There's a difference," Phoebe clarified, rolling her eyes. "You agreed. You laid down the law. There's a difference."
"Phoebe… Buffy… Our powers are not toys… We have to be careful. They could get us killed," Prue elaborated, trying to make Phoebe understand.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm the Charmed Slayer remember, Prue. My life is full of danger just from the Slayer half of me, with the possibility of an early death before I turn eighteen."
"Prue's right. We don't want any more warlocks finding us," Piper added, shuddering slightly at the fearful encounter with Jeremy. "Nor do we want you to die at the hands of a vampire, a warlock or any other creature out there, Buffy."
Phoebe sighed in aggravation. "Look, it was just a lousy premonition, that's all. Nobody died. Besides you two can't control your powers any better than I can," she accused bringing the attention back to herself and then added, "And F.Y.I. nothing happened last." She glanced at Prue pointedly. "At least nothing I'm ashamed of." With that she turned to walk away, but Prue stopped her.
"There's another reason we have to be careful. Andy thinks there's someone abducting women in our area," she warned carefully, looking from Piper to Buffy and finally to Phoebe.
"Abducting women?" Buffy asked with a hint of worry in her voice as she remembered what happened to her mother in their own home.
"Yes. And it means that warlocks, vampires and whatever else is out there isn't the only evil we have to watch out for," Prue explained, before fixing Phoebe with a confident stare. "And F.Y.I. I'm not ashamed of anything,"
Phoebe nodded in understanding, smiling slightly before she left back to her room.
St. Peter's Catholic Church
Piper and Buffy pulled up beside the church. Piper ooked up at the main entrance debating whether she should enter or not. Normally she wouldn't have hesitated a moment, but since watching that documentary on witches that morning she had her doubts whether they were good or evil. As she pondered the idea a man walked up to the passenger's side window and knocked gently. Piper jumped at the unexpected sound as the man bent down to talk with her and Buffy through her rolled down window.
"Ooh. Father Williams, you scared me…" Piper admitted putting her hand over her heart as she took a deep breath to calm it down.
"Sorry," he apologized with a slight. "Aren't you a little early?" Father Williams added. Piper frowned in confusion, obviously trying to think of what he was talking about. He seemed to notice because he elaborated. "Dropping off the unused food from your restaurant. I thought you weren't coming by until this afternoon. And who do you have with you?"
Comprehension dawned on her face as Piper jumped to explain. "Yeah, I am. I'm coming back later… with everything," she replied awkwardly, nodding to herself. "And this is my cousin on my mom's side of the family. Father Williams meet Buffy Halliwell, Buffy, Father Williams. Buffy's mom passed away recently; Prue, Phoebe and I became her legal guardians."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Buffy.
"Likewise and my condolences," he said.
"Thank you," said Buffy.
Father Williams returned his attention to Piper. "So, what are you doing here now?" he asked.
"Nothing really… just thinking…." Piper answered cryptically.
"About?" Father Williams prodded carefully.
Piper bit her lip uncertainly and answered reluctantly. "Mary Estee…"
"Who?" he asked in confusion.
Piper rolled her eyes, inwardly kicking herself. "It's just a stupid documentary I saw," she explained hastily and then laughed trying to act casual as she changed positions to better look at Father Williams. "By the way, is it true that evil beings can't go into a church without being…?" she trailed off and made a motion with her hands symbolizing being hit by lightning.
Father Williams laughed. "Evil beings? Like what? Vampires?" he suggested.
Piper and Buffy glanced at each other at the mention of vampires. The decided it best to pretend what he said was funny as they awkwardly laughed.
"Vampires, uh no. I was thinking more along the line of… witches," Piper corrected casually though listening to his every word intently.
"Witches huh?" Father Williams paused seeming to think about it for a moment. "Let me put it to you both this way. I sure wouldn't want to risk it," Piper and Buffy glanced at each then nodded slightly. "I gotta go. See you later?"
"Yeah, right, absolutely," Piper replied. Father Williams walked away leaving Piper to look back toward the entrance to the church. She narrowed her eyes in determination and pushed the car door open. She and Buffy got out and approached the church door. Piper stretched her hand for the handle. Just before she closed her hand around it a crack of thunder rumbled in the distance and she jumped away in fear.
"Piper," Buffy said as her hand closed on the handled and she opened the church door. She stepped inside and back out to show her cousin that there was nothing to be afraid of. She followed Piper back to the car. "Do you think I could do my job as the Slayer if I couldn't go in a church, wear or hold a cross, use holy water if I was evil?"
"Probably not," answered Piper.
"So what does that say about you, since your my cousin?" Buffy continued.
"That I'm likely not either," said Piper seeing where Buffy was going. "Shall we swing by the school and see about getting you enrolled? Then you can start on Monday."
Buffy smiled. "Sounds like a plan."
Gateway High School
Piper and Buffy sat in the principal's office, across the desk from Mr. Flutie. As they watched him, he pulled Buffy's transcript from a folder, glanced through it, then turned a direct gaze on Buffy.
"Buffy Summers," he recited.
"Halliwell," corrected Piper. When Buffy had said she wanted to go by the Halliwell name she, Prue and Phoebe agreed and had Buffy's last name changed legally. "Buffy's transcripts are slightly out of date. After Aunt Joyce passed away last week; Prue, Phoebe and I became Buffy's legal guardians. We changed Buffy's last name to ours, at Buffy's own request to honor her mother."
"I'll make a note," he said. "Welcome to Gateway. A clean slate, Buffy, that's what you get here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what it says on a piece of paper. Even if it says—" He broke off and looked down again at the ripped pages. His eyes went wide. "Whoa. At Gateway we nurture the whole student. The inner student."
Having recovered himself, Mr. Flutie continued to talk while picking up the pieces of her transcript and arranging them back into their original shape.
"Other schools might look at the incredible decline in grade point average," he went on. "We look at the struggling young woman with the incredible decline in grade point average. Other schools might look at the reports of gang fights—"
"Mr. Flutie—" Buffy interrupted.
"All the kids here are free to call me Bob—"
"Bob—"
"But they don't."
He pulled out a piece of tape and began taping the transcript together again.
"Mr. Flutie. I know my transcripts are a little . . . colorful—"
"Hey, we're not caring about that! Do you think 'colorful' is the word? Not 'dismal'? Just offhand, I'd go with 'dismal.'"
"It wasn't that bad."
Mr. Flutie stared at her. "You burned down the gym."
"I did. I really…" Buffy started as Piper elbowed her.
"Mr. Flutie," said Piper. "We heard of the accusation that Hemery made prior to Aunt Joyce's death. And we have been in contact with our attorney on this issue and have been told to direct anyone who brings up Hemery's accusation to direct them to our attorney."
"Ms. Halliwell," said Mr. Flutie as he looked at Piper. "Don't worry. Any other school, they might say 'Watch your step,' or 'We'll be watching you,' but that's just not the way here. We want to service Buffy's needs and help her to succeed."
"Good," said Piper. "So is it all right that Buffy starts next Monday?"
"I see no reason she can't," he replied as he slipped the messily mended transcript back into Buffy's folder and slammed it shut with his hand.
Bucklands Auction House
Prue jumped out of her car and promptly grabbed all the papers for her interview and her purse before taking off across the parking lot. She raced toward the elevator that had just begun to close.
"Hold the door," she called, praying that someone would stop it from closing since she couldn't miss that elevator. Prue squeezed through at the last minute, but her purse hit the door and slipped from her arm, spilling the contents on the floor. "Damn it!" she muttered, bending down to pick it all up. "Can you push twelve, please," she pleaded to the man closest to the numbers.
He did so and bent down to help her. "Here, let me help," he offered, picking up some of her papers and looking at them curiously. "Eighteenth Century French Art? Do you work at the Auction House upstairs?" he asked, sounding impressed as Prue grabbed her last piece of merchandise off the floor and stood up.
"No… just interviewing," Prue explained and added as an afterthought. "If I ever get there in time. Don't let me get my King Louis' mixed up." She carefully took all the papers from him and silence fell across the elevator. She glanced up to see the floor they were on and saw they had just reached three. She let out an impatient sigh as she looked at the time on her watch. Prue vaguely realized that she was the only woman on the elevator, but the ringing of her phone caught her attention. She flashed an apologetic look at the men in the elevator as they all turned to look at her, but answered her phone anyways.
"Hello?" she answered, expecting to hear the voice of one of her sisters or Buffy wanting something. Her eyes widened as she recognized Andy's voice on the other end. "Uh, Andy, how did you get this number?" Prue demanded softly, turning away slightly.
On the other line Andy was sitting on the edge of his desk at the police station, using his work phone. "I'm a detective remember?" he countered lightly. "Prue, I think we should talk," he added in a more serious tone.
Prue inwardly flinched. "Yeah, it's just that I'm really late for this interview," she tried to procrastinate… at least until she was out of the elevator.
"I didn't mean for what happened last night to happen, Prue, you have to know that," Andy continued, ignoring her excuse. Prue glanced nervously around the elevator. She was not going talk about this now. She desperately changed the subject… maybe he'd realize that this wasn't a good time.
"Of course I'm, you know, totally wrong for it anyway, stuffy old auction house. Don't know why they even called." The man next to her glanced her way, but she ignored it.
"Come on, Prue. Listen to me. We've known each other a long time now. We just couldn't help ourselves. It's nothing to be ashamed of," Andy insisted.
As he spoke, Prue began to grow frustrated as several more men entered the elevator on floor five. They pushed every floor between seven and twelve. It became obvious she wasn't going to get out of here before speaking to Andy. "I know Andy…" she replied, desperately trying to keep her voice down.
"All we did was make love…"
"I know, Andy," Prue snapped, clenching her phone in aggravation.
"Well, talk to me. Help me out here, Prue. Why did you sneak out like that?" he asked.
Prue narrowed her eyes indignantly. "I did not sneak…. Out…." she replied, lowering her voice at the end as she reminded herself she was in an elevator. "Right, you were asleep, I didn't want to wake you," she lied in desperation. There was silence on the other end so she quickly added. "And I did write you a note… I just didn't leave it."
The service on the phone began to break up causing Prue to panic. "Hello? Hello?" She and Andy both hung up, irritated.
Prue sighed loudly and threw her phone back in her bag. As she looked up she noticed all the men looking at her. They quickly looked away, clearing their throats. She glanced up to see what floor they were on again only to find they were stopping on floor seven. Prue glared at the door that was beginning to open, forcing it to close shut, causing a ruckus within the elevator as a man needed to get off. Ignoring him, she narrowed her eyes on the level twelve light and the elevator skipped every floor between seven and twelve. She smirked to herself as all the men hit on the elevator door as if it would open up. On floor twelve the elevator stopped, opening up as normal.
"That was strange… Lucky you huh?" the man next to her commented with a glance over at her.
Prue walked quickly out of the elevator muttering. "Yeah, I'm charmed alright."
Quake
Phoebe pushed through the crowded restaurant to reach the bar. She handed a bill folder to a young couple.
"Here you go," she spoke, handing it to the man who reached out for it.
"Thank you," he responded gratefully.
Phoebe smiled and turned to leave before doing a double take in disbelief. "Excuse me, but aren't you Stefan?" Phoebe asked, approaching slowly.
Stefan glanced back up at her, smiling. "Yes… I'm sorry, but do we know each other?" he questioned, looking at her curiously.
Phoebe took several deep breaths to calm herself. "Oh, highly doubtful. I'm just familiar with your work. Like everyone else in the world," she admitted, glancing awkwardly back at his date who had been silent.
"Well, I don't know about that, but I'll always take a compliment from a gorgeous woman," Stefan replied, flashing a charming smile that made Phoebe look back toward the woman he was sitting with.
"I'm sure your girlfriend must appreciate that…" Phoebe answered, trying to judge her reaction.
Stefan leaned closer to Phoebe. "She's not my girlfriend," he whispered pointedly.
"Then why are you whispering?" Phoebe whispered back flirtatiously.
The woman frowned in anger and jumped up from the bar. "Excuse me," she hissed, pushing between Phoebe and Stefan and causing Phoebe to step back.
"Oh… oh, okay," Phoebe murmured, putting her hands up dramatically in innocence. Stefan turned around to watch her leave and Phoebe stepped back forward. "Well, it was very nice to meet you," she offered beginning to turn away.
"You too…" Stefan agreed and then reached out to stop her from leaving. "Listen. I'm in town for a couple days doing a Porsche shoot. If you're interested, stop by. I'd love to photograph you. You do model, don't you?" Stefan took out a pen and wrote his address on a napkin in front of him and gave it to Phoebe.
Phoebe stared in surprise and gingerly reached out to take it. "In my dreams… yeah," she admitted and then glanced down at the napkin excitedly before turning away. As she was still staring at the napkin Piper and Buffy ran up.
Piper grabbed Phoebe's hands, effectively gaining her attention. "A driver has called in sick. Can you do a quick delivery?" she pleaded desperately. "Buffy will go with you and help you out."
"Sure," Phoebe agreed, taking a step back from her sister, but she couldn't resist telling Piper amd Buffy about Stefan. "Is that guy at the bar staring at me?" she began.
Buffy and Piper cast a quick glance to the bar behind her. "A lot of guys at the bar are staring at you," Piper agreed hastily.
"The one at the far end. Tall, dark, brooding, very New York," Phoebe described Stefan.
Buffy and Piper glanced over again for a split moment. "Sorry, no," Buffy answered as Piper dashed off back to work. Phoebe looked back where Stefan had been to find him gone. Her gaze flickered back to the napkin with his address on it and she smiled.
"Let me guess, some hot guy asked you out?" asked Buffy as she looked at the napkin.
"Maybe," said Phoebe.
Bucklands Auction House
Prue advanced toward the woman sitting behind the Secretary's desk, trying to let her frustration go before doing the job interview. The young woman looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and looked at Prue expectantly.
"Hello, I'm Prudence Halliwell. I'm here for a job interview," she explained.
The woman smiled and motioned for her follow. She led Prue toward an office door just down the hall. "He's seen your resume and he's very impressed, but I've got to tell you, he's already seen six other applicants," she warned, traversing them around the ladders and workers painting.
"I still don't know why he's interested. I never even applied," Prue answered sounding curious. She looked toward the Secretary for an answer.
"He likes what you did at the museum, even though your ex-boss trashed you," the secretary elaborated. "I mean, what's Roger got against you anyway?"
Prue frowned slightly as the question was turned toward Roger. "Hard to say. Unless shattering his ego counts for something. He's also my ex-fiancé," Prue replied quickly. They had now come to stop outside the door to the office Prue assumed was the boss's.
The secretary laughed softly. "I got it…. Ready?" she asked, reaching out for the door handle.
Prue nodded slightly. "Yeah," the secretary opened the door and preceded Prue into the room.
"Rex Buckland, this is Prue Halliwell, interviewing for the new specialist," she announced. Prue walked in to find the man next to her in the elevator standing in front of the desk. Her smile turned to a slight frown and she bit her lip slightly, suddenly a little nervous as Rex looked her over quickly.
"Actually, we've already met… Welcome to my stuffy old auction house," he greeted sarcastically. He walked forward to shake hands with her. Prue cleared her throat softly, trying to appear nonchalant. "Can nothing go right today?" Prue thought to herself.
Stefan's Photography Place
In the middle of a large studio a woman was bound tightly by the hands and legs to a short table. An old demon walked toward her carrying a black candlestick. He placed it on an empty candle standle that was set up around the table in a ritualistic way.
"Please don't hurt me… Let me go! Please Stefan," the woman begged, the fear evident in her voice. She struggled to break the bonds that held her down but fell back in exhaustion. The demon stepped out of the shadows for the first time causing the woman to cringe away in fright. "Oh my God…" she whispered.
"It's Javna…" the demon corrected in a slow hissing voice as he stepped closer to her. His eyes turned red and bright ray beams shot out of them, hitting the woman in the face.
"Wait!" she screamed as she thrashed around on the table, trying to get loose or at least keep her eyes away from the ray beams. The demon ignored her and finally the woman grew old before his eyes while he grew young, into the form of Stefan. He picked up the mirror on an end table beside him and grinned. The woman lay still, seeming disoriented while Stefan's laughter rang through the empty studio.
Bucklands Auction House
Rex invited Prue to make herself comfortable in the chair in front of his desk while he took all the papers from her and flipped through them.
"How many divisions did you correct?" he asked as he walked past her, heading towards his desk.
"Seven, including the colonist estate. It should be on my resume," Prue answered promptly, her eyes following his movements closely.
"Franklin Carlton. That's quite a coup," Rex commented, sounding impressed. He dropped the papers on his desk and sat down opposite Prue.
"Yes, well, I tend to be on the persistent side. I usually get what I want," Prue explained with a slight nod to him.
Rex offered a faint smile. "A no doubter," Rex agreed and then smiled slyly. "It's a shame though that you think you're… how did you put it in the elevator? Totally wrong for the job," Rex reminded her, casually leaning back in his chair for an answer.
Prue bit her lip ever so slightly and looked away for a split moment in aggravation. "That was a private phone conversation," she countered.
Rex shook his head, grinning. "Hardly," he retorted.
Prue looked away and reached down to grab her purse before standing up abruptly. "You called me, remember? Not the other way around," she returned, her voice clearly showing her irritation. There was a pause at which time she was deciding whether to let it go or to continue. "And while we're at it. I think it's incredibly unfair of you to eavesdrop on a private call and then misjudge me based on entirely what you thought you heard," Prue added, deciding on the latter.
Rex looked away while she accused him and when she had finished ranting glanced back at her. "I apologize. It was unfair of me," he offered and then stood up and approached her. "I'm new to all of this," Rex explained waving his hand to show off the room. "I've only just taken over the house from my father so I'm very protective of it. But knowing that, what you did at the museum, attracting the younger market, it's totally consistent with what I want to do here," he paused for a moment sitting down on the edge of his desk. Prue glanced away, slightly embarrassed. "It's just that… when all these qualifications are signed, it's very important to me that whoever I hire, truly wants to be here," Rex continued, carefully watching Prue's reaction. Before she could respond there was a beep announcing the presence of the intercom. "Yeah?" he called, not taking his eyes off Prue.
"Excuse me, Mr. Buckland, but your next interview is waiting. Shall I reschedule him?" the secretary's voice filled the room.
"No, I think we're done here," he responded icily, picking up Prue's files and handing them to her.
She took them and shook his hand formally. "Well, thanks for your time," she replied, her voice slightly cold in return. He nodded and watched as Prue turned to leave. Just as she reached the door she hesitated and turned back around. "My area of expertise ranges from the Ming Dynasty to a Mark McGuire ricky baseball card. You name it- I can identify it. Now I may not have sought this job originally, but I do want it… And I'm definitely right for it," Prue finished confidently and then left without waiting for a response. Rex watched her leave pondering the possibilities.
St. Peter's Catholic Church
Piper pulled Quake's catering van up to the church and parked just outside. Already several people were coming out of the church to help unload. Buffy and Phoebe jumped out of the passenger side carrying on the conversation that had been going on in the van.
"You'd think after last night Prue would be a lot mellower. I mean, how long had it been? Six months? And she's worse," Phoebe observed, she and Buffy walked around to the back of the van and opened it up.
Piper came up from the other side of the van carrying a clipboard and pen. Piper sighed as the conversation kept going and leaned back against the back door. "It's just so un-Prue-like to have sex on the first date," she explained as a woman came up. Phoebe reached into the van and pulled out a tray that she handed to the woman. "Everything's changing since we've become… you know…" Piper continued, trailing off and giving the woman an annoyed glance before marking that tray off on her clipboard.
Phoebe grinned and turned back to the truck. "Come on, you've never had sex on the first date?" Phoebe asked sarcastically.
Piper looked up at Phoebe, appearing offended. "No… have you?" Piper asked, her eyes narrowing. There was silence in which Phoebe just grinned trying not to laugh. "Don't answer that…" she snapped, changing her mind. She then looked at Buffy. "Please tell me you haven't at all."
"Not that I haven't wanted to," said Buffy. "I am after all a teenager and what teenager hasn't thought about it. But no, I haven't."
"Good because you're not till you're like eighteen," said Piper.
Phoebe pulled another tray out of the truck and looked at both her big sister and her cousin. "Well, it's not a regular thing. Of course, now that I'm a witch I'll be able to see if it will be any good or not before it actually…." Phoebe started and then trailed off as she noticed an elderly man waiting on the tray. She handed it to him and leaned casually against the van door. "Hi," she greeted, waving as the elderly man walked off.
Piper stared at her in disbelief. "What's the matter with you? Are you outta your mind?" she scolded.
Phoebe rolled her eyes and took out another tray. "Come on, it's not like he took me literally," Phoebe retorted while grabbing the last tray out of the van.
"You don't know that… he could of," Piper countered, checking off the trays on her clipboard as Phoebe handed the tray to another man. "I just think we need to be extra careful, in bed and out," she continued nodding to herself and Buffy.
Buffy understood why Piper had nodded to her. After all being the Slayer came with increased strength, she could seriously hurt someone regardless if she had sex with them if she wasn't careful. "That's all I ever try to be is careful," she admitted.
Phoebe narrowed her eyes in a studying manner. "Yeah, well, there's careful and then there's paranoid," she pointed out. "Do you want to talk about it?" she prodded gently.
Piper frowned and looked away. "Talk about what?" she asked with a hint of distress in her voice. Phoebe stared at her for a moment but before anything else could be said, Father Williams voice cut through the air causing them to look in his direction.
"Hey, Phoebe. I didn't know you were back in town," he said as as he advanced.
"Hey!" Phoebe greeted as Father Williams pulled her into a friendly hug.
"Took a bite out of the big apple did you?" he joked, waving at Piper and Buffy. Buffy waved back while Piper stepped back, still frowning.
"Oh, I ate the worm." Phoebe went along with the joke and stepped back from him. She looked out toward a street store. "Hey, I'm going to go get some gum. Do you guys want anything?" she asked, looking at the group.
"No thanks," Buffy and Father Williams replied at the same time, causing Buffy to smile awkwardly while Piper just shook her head.
"Okay, good to see you," Phoebe said as she walked off.
"You too," he called after Phoebe.
Piper looked down at her clipboard, but looked up slightly as she felt his gaze on her. She inwardly debated saying something and finally she sighed and gave in. Father Williams stayed silent, waiting on her to speak. "Okay, here's the deal. I've got this friend. Has a little problem. Could be bad. Not quite sure what to tell her," Piper laid out the scenario as casually as she could.
"Do you want to go inside?" he asked politely, pointing toward the church.
Buffy noticed that a flash of panic shot through Piper, who shook her head hastily. Despite what she had said this morning it seemed that Piper was still afraid that she could be evil.
"No…." Piper declined immediately, causing Father Williams to look at her curiously. "I mean, Buffy and I've got to get going," she explained.
He nodded in understanding. "So what's the problem?" he pressed, listening closely.
Piper hesitated before taking a deep breath. "Well, she sorta thinks she might be a…. a witch," she elaborated, forcing an embarrassed laugh at the end.
"Witches again, huh?" Pastor Williams asked with a nod to himself. He turned and walked a few steps away and Piper followed nervously.
"Yeah," said Buffy with a sigh.
"Not a good thing is it?" Piper guessed, looking down at the ground.
"Certainly not a question I get every day," he admitted, thinking about his answer. "How well do you remember your Sunday School Lessons? Exodus 22:18. 'Though shall not suffer a witch to live,'" he quoted slowly.
Piper frowned, dreading his answer. "Meaning…?" she whispered despite already knowing what he was going to say.
"If you go by the old school? Put her to death… she's evil," Father Williams replied carefully. Piper flinched and looked away, despair threatening to overcome her façade. It took all of her self control to force a front and say farewell to Father Williams. She quickly returned to the shelter of the van, followed by Buffy. .
Outside a Store
Phoebe walked up to the booth and grabbed some gum and a magazine off the rack. While she was reading the front page of the magazine she approached the man behind the cash register.
"Here you go," she called, getting the cashier's attention and handing him the stuff.
He looked at the price tags on the items and mentally calculated the amount. "$3.52," he replied.
As Phoebe was pulling her wallet out of her purse she caught the conversation of an elderly couple on the other side of the little store. "Should we use the grandchildren's birthdays?" An elderly man asked to his wife. They were both looking at a lottery ticket. The man looked up and caught Phoebe's eye. "Ten million dollar jackpot. Who knows… today may be our lucky day," he explained pulling his wife into a hug.
Phoebe smiled, but didn't appear hopeful. "Maybe," Phoebe agreed anyway.
"If not… we're gonna lose our house," the elderly man added. Phoebe looked down at the lottery tickets and picked one up. She was thrown into a premonition.
On a television she read the numbers for winning lottery ticket. 4, 16, 19,30,32,40.
"4, 16, 19, 30, 32, and 40… Those are the winning numbers," she whispered
"Yeah, right lady. Do you want this stuff or don't you?" the cashier asked her impatiently.
Phoebe ignored him and looked toward the elderly couple. "4, 16,19,30,32, and 40. Trust me mister, today is your lucky day," Phoebe continued. The old man looked questioningly at his wife, who nodded and he wrote down the numbers. Phoebe grinned as she suddenly had an idea. "I think I'll buy one of these lottery tickets too," she told the cashier, picking one up and handing it to him. She left the store and hurried back to the church where Buffy and Piper were chatting beside the van.
"What are you smiling about?" Piper asked her suspiciously as she came up.
"Oh, nothing…" Phoebe lied casually. "Can you scoot over a little, Buffy?"
"Yeah," said Buffy as she scooted over so Phoebe could get in. "Piper and I were just talking about getting something to eat at Quake after drop off the van. You in?"
"Yeah… Let's go," Phoebe agreed. There were several nice clothing stores along the same road. It would be easy to pick up something new and nice before meeting Stefan again…
Quake
Prue traversed carefully through the crowded restaurant looking for Piper. She was about to head into the kitchen when Piper came running out ordering several workers to different duties.
"Come on Cindy, your salmon's up… Hector, way behind. We need clean plates," Piper ordered frantically before Prue reached out and grabbed Piper's hands, forcing her to look at her.
"You didn't give Andy my cell phone number by any chance, did you?" Prue asked, causing Piper to give her a confused look.
"No, why?" Piper replied, looking around at the restaurant in frustration. Prue shook her head and followed Piper as she walked toward the cash register. "Remind me, I wanted to do this for a living," she muttered.
"Well, it looks like you are going to be the only one doing anything for a living. I think I blew my interview…" Prue admitted with a sigh.
Piper flashed her a semi-annoyed look. "I can't imagine it was less than stellar," Piper countered. She was suddenly pulled to a stop as Prue halted staring at Phoebe in aggravation. As she watched, Buffy walked up and shook hands with Stefan while Phoebe introduced her.
"What's Phoebe and Buffy doing here?" Prue demanded, glaring at Phoebe and Buffy.
"Buffy was helping me with a delivery," admitted Piper. "After all when I took Buffy to get her enrolled we asked the principal if she could start next week that way she has a little more time to get settled. And Phoebe, she's flirting."
"Yeah and she's wearing Armani. Where did she get that?" Prue snapped, glancing at Piper quickly.
"Not from my closet… Gotta go," Piper responded, pulling away from Prue and heading back into the kitchen. Prue watched her leave and approached her two youngest sisters.
Buffy looked up and waved as Prue advanced.
"Prue, hi," Phoebe greeted before turning to Stefan. "This is my other sister… Prue, this is Stefan the photographer," she introduced. Prue forced a fake smile and shook hands with him.
"Pleasure," Stefan replied.
"Likewise," Prue offered and her eyes flickered over Phoebe's dress. She glanced over at Buffy and was pleased that she didn't seem to be wearing extremely overpriced clothing. She'd only have to interrogate Phoebe. "Nice dress," she brought up casually.
"Don't worry. It's not yours," Phoebe assured, leaning back into her chair.
Buffy bit her lip and looked over Phoebe's dress, apparently noticing for the first time how expensive it was because she glanced over at Prue nervously. She knew how tight money was since Piper was the only one working at the moment, which was also the reason, despite attempts to persude her cousins to the contrary, she didn't have an allowance.
"I know… I could never afford it," Prue admitted, forcing her tone of voice to stay positive.
Phoebe frowned slightly and turned to Stefan. "Will you excuse me for a minute?" she asked pleasantly and got up from her chair. She irritably grabbed both Prue and Buffy's hands and pulled them toward the kitchen. Prue flashed one last fake smile at Stefan before allowing herself to be pulled away. Stefan watched them leave and he looked down at his hand under the table. It was wrinkly and much too brittle to be the hand of his apparent youth.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Phoebe pushed irritably into the kitchen followed by Prue and Buffy.
"What do you mean you charged it? How are you going to pay for that? You're broke," Prue scolded, her eyes flashing in anger. Buffy disappeared into the ruckus of the kitchen to look for Piper before a huge argument erupted between the two sisters.
Phoebe spun around to face Prue defiantly. "Not for long," she countered, glaring at her eldest sister.
Prue sighed in understanding. "You didn't use your powers again…" she stated, shaking her head in frustration.
"Maybe. Are you saying you haven't?" Phoebe shot back.
"No I'm not saying that, but we're not talking about me, are we?" Prue snapped, her voice beginning to rise.
At this point, Piper came running up to them followed closely by Buffy. Piper glanced around the kitchen trying to see if anyone had heard the conversation. "What are you guys doing in here?" she hissed, looking nervous.
"The same thing we do at home," Phoebe replied without turning to look at Piper or Buffy.
Prue ignored Piper and continued. "So what did you do? Go to the tracks, play the market, what?" she demanded
"I bet it was the lottery," Buffy said shaking her head.
"It was the lottery," Phoebe admitted, her eyes narrowed in defiance.
"Phoebe!" Piper scolded loudly.
"You guys, maybe we ought to continue this somewhere else…" Buffy suggested as several people began to look curiously toward them. Phoebe ignored Buffy while Piper followed her gaze to the people now watching them and began to slowly panic.
"What did you want me to do? Ignore the premonition. Not help a needy family. That's what we're supposed to do!" Phoebe yelled.
"No! We're not supposed to use our powers for our own personal gain. That's what it says in The Book of Shadows," Prue argued.
"Not so loud," Piper pleaded, pacing around her sisters.
Buffy walked toward the group of people watching them and waved her hands. "Nothing to see here, get back to work," she ordered loudly, to cover up the talk of powers coming from the sisters. Reluctantly, the workers dispersed.
"You said we needed money, right? Well, I'm getting some," Phoebe pointed out.
"Come on you guys," Piper pleaded some more only to be ignored again.
"So get a job like everyone else!" Prue yelled, all her frustration of the day being released.
Buffy sighed. "I bet I see where future allowance talks are going," she muttered to herself.
"I'm using my mind instead!" Phoebe retorted.
At that moment the door to the kitchen once again opened as Andy pushed through looking for Prue. "Prue?" he called, his eyes focusing on her. Prue froze hoping she had heard wrong while Phoebe, Piper, and Buffy watched him approach nervously. As he walked toward her he bumped into a worker carrying plates, causing the worker to trip and drop the plates.
"Watch it!" Piper shouted throwing her hands out. The plates froze just before hitting the ground as did everything else in the room. Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe were left staring wide-eyed at the situation. "Oh no, not again…" Piper muttered beginning to pace frantically
"Now look what you have done!" Prue shouted, waving her hand to emphasize the situation.
"This is my fault?!" Phoebe yelled in disbelief.
Piper looked at them in surprise. "You guys aren't frozen?" she asked in confusion.
"I guess it doesn't work on witches," Phoebe suggested with a shrug.
Buffy spun around and opened the door to the kitchen and looked out to see everyone moving as normal. "Oh my," she whispered under her breath. "Piper, how long does it last?"
Prue turned to follow Buffy and saw what she had, that the kitchen was the only thing frozen. "How long?" she demanded.
"I don't know… not long," Piper answered, trying to take deep breaths to calm herself.
"Uh, I hate to add to our ever growing number of problems, but it doesn't work out here either," Buffy added, quickly closing the kitchen door.
Piper's eyes widened in fear and Phoebe looked around frantically. "Oh! Tell me this isn't happening," she pleaded, leaning up against a counter in panic.
"Nobody panic! We can fix this," Buffy piped up, searching frantically for a solution.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Darryl walked into the restaurant looking for Andy. He put his hands in his pockets accidently revealing his police badge. Stefan noticed from where he sat and quickly got up and left.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Calm down, it's okay, okay, it's all going to be okay," Phoebe was muttering over and over to Piper trying to calm her down.
Prue pushed past Buffy and looked out the kitchen door to see a waitress pointing Darryl to the kitchen. Her eyes widened and she quickly backed into the kitchen. "Oh God, Andy's partner just came in and he's heading this way…" she added, running up to Piper and grabbing her hands.
"What are we going to do?" Piper asked, her voice a higher pitch from panic.
"Buffy, stall him!" Phoebe hissed, running to get a menu to fan Piper with.
"Okay look, Piper! You have to focus… don't worry…. Just focus," Prue whispered encouragingly.
Buffy glanced out the kitchen door to stall Darryl, but hesitated and backed away. "Which one is he?" she asked, having not ever seen Andy's partner before.
Prue glanced at Buffy in disbelief while Phoebe dashed back to Piper. "Fix this," Phoebe shouted, pushing Prue toward the door and took over calming Piper down.
Prue ran out of the kitchen and intercepted Darryl. "Hey! Inspector Morris right?" Prue asked, blocking him from entering the kitchen.
"That's right… Is Trudeau in there?" Morris inquired, pointing behind her.
"Uh, Andy? I don't know… is he?" Prue feigned ignorance trying to hold him back, but Morris just walked around her.
In the kitchen Buffy had also grabbed a menu and both she and Phoebe were frantically fanning Piper. "Okay, breathe, Piper, breathe," Phoebe pleaded.
Darryl tried to push into the kitchen. He was looking back at Prue who was vainly trying to keep his attention on her. Buffy dropped her menu and dashed toward them, grabbing the door and pushing it as closed as she could force it so at least Darryl wouldn't be able to see anything for a few moments. Darryl glanced irritably at the door and roughly shoved it open, sending Buffy back into the wall while Prue desperately grabbed his arm.
"Wait!" Prue pleaded. Just as Darryl finally entered the kitchen everything unfroze. The plates hit the ground with a loud crash, causing Piper to jump and the kitchen returned to its normal bustle.
Andy looked around in confusion for Prue, not seeing her where he thought she had been. "I think we should… talk…" he trailed off, finally seeing her come up behind Darryl, looking flustered. "What are you doing here? I thought I had five minutes…" he asked pointing at Darryl.
Darryl smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I gave you ten," he replied, pointing at his watch. Andy glanced in confusion down at his and they compared watches. Prue bit her lip and gave Piper and Phoebe a pleading glance as Buffy slipped out from behind the door rubbing her arm where she had slammed into the wall.
"You know… guys, we're really busy in here," Piper snapped in annoyance to the two cops.
"Yeah," Buffy agreed, "maybe you should take this elsewhere. Piper does have a restaurant to run."
Andy and Darryl both looked up over at Piper and Buffy. "Yeah sure." Andy agreed, turning to leave.
"I'll call you later, I promise," Prue added, grabbing Darryl's arm and hurrying them toward the door. Andy nodded to Prue and waved to the others.
"Bye," Phoebe called, trying to de-stress while Piper closed her eyes taking huge gulps of air.
"I hate being a witch," Piper hissed, turning away from all three of her sisters. Prue watched her in surprise as Phoebe flinched.
Buffy smiled. "I don't it's fun. Well except for the occasional warlock."
Halliwell Manor
Piper irritably threw open the door to the attic and collapsed into a chair, a few tears escaping from her eyes as she thought of what Father Williams had said, 'I sure wouldn't want to risk it….Exodus 22:18…. Put her to death. She's evil… evil…' She thought about what Buffy had said, 'Do you think I could do my job as the Slayer if I couldn't go in a church, wear or hold a cross, use holy water if I was evil?' She was torn which was the truth here. Buffy was a witch like herself and she could also do everything that she had said and wasn't being struck down as a result by God or whatever higher being there was. But Father Williams had said the bible said she was evil. Both couldn't be true.
She looked up and saw both the Charmed Ones Book of Shadows as well as the Charmed Slayer Book of Shadows resting on the pedestals where they usually left them. She silently stood up and grabbed the Charmed Ones book before sitting back down in the chair. Piper absent-mindedly flipped through the pages. She didn't know exactly why. She wasn't looking for anything in particular but it was something to do. She didn't look up, even after hearing a soft knock on the door to the attic.
"Hey, sweetie, what are you doing up here?" Phoebe asked gently, as she and Buffy came in to sit in a chair across from Piper.
"Reading… Thinking…" Piper whispered, focusing on the book. She couldn't look up at Phoebe or Buffy or she would break down and that was the last thing she wanted right now.
"About what?" Buffy prodded, curling into the chair but her eyes never strayed from her little sister.
"You already know the answer to that," Piper replied, chancing a glance up at Buffy.
Buffy sighed knowing exactly what Piper was talking about, what Father Thomas had told them that morning. She smiled slightly. "I want you to tell us though," she explained, there was a difference between finding out and being told. There was more trust when being confided in. Piper smirked, but didn't respond. "Piper, talk to us, please."
Piper took a deep breath. "I don't know… it's just, all our lives, we've been like everyone else. Rushing off to work, going out on bad dates, buying shoes… And suddenly, everything is different. We're witches now… I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing," she finally admitted.
Buffy sighed. "Now you know how I felt since I was called as the Slayer."
Phoebe smiled. "Are you kidding? It's a great thing."
"You don't know that," Piper admitted. "We don't know anything about these powers. Why we have them, what they mean, where they come from. I mean, how do we know it's not... how do we know it's not from evil?"
"Piper, we've been through this. We're good witches," Phoebe tried to explain to her stressed out sister.
"What about Jeremy?" Piper asked. She instantly saw the anger in Buffy's eyes at the mention of Jeremy's name. She understood why since he had killed her mother. "What about all the other warlocks he said would be coming after us. And all the vampires that will be coming for Buffy. How do we know we're not just like them? That is what scares me. We don't know. I just wanna be normal again. As messed up as that was. Is that too much to ask for?"
"Piper, listen to me," Phoebe said. "You are the sweetest, most caring person I've ever met." Buffy nodded in agreement. "No, I mean that, you are. You're always there to help anybody, even strangers."
"Phoebe is right there," Buffy agreed. "A week ago I was a total stranger to you. You, Prue and Phoebe took me in. You didn't have to but you did."
"You've been doing it your whole life," added Phoebe. "So there's no way you've been given this, this gift if it wasn't to do good things with it. To protect the innocent just like both Book of Shadows said. Besides, if anyone is concerned of being bad, it's me, right?" Piper laughed. "You've got nothing to be afraid of. I am going to get my picture taken." She struck a post as she stood up causing Piper to laugh again. "Hey Buffy would you like to tag along. Maybe we can talk Stefan into taking yours also?"
Buffy smiled. "Sure, why not."
Bucklands Auction House
Rex met Prue in front of the Secretary's desk. He walked up to her and shook her hand. "Prue, thank you for coming back," he greeted pleasantly.
"Thanks for having me back, though I must admit I didn't expect it," she replied, turning to follow Rex as he headed for another room.
"Well, I told you I was interested and I am. First of all, I decided to test your expertise, if you don't mind. See how good you really are," Rex explained, leading her into another room filled with ladders and paint, but also with a few artifacts. "Watch your step," he warned, pointing to several cans of paint that littered the floor. He led her up to where another woman was waiting beside the artifacts. "This is Hannah Webster, one of our assistant specialists. This is Prue Halliwell," he introduced them as Prue and Hannah shook hands.
"Hi, nice to meet you," Prue greeted politely while Hannah just gave a slight nod.
"Please, tell us about this piece," Rex prompted Prue, pointing towards a large painting and effectively ending the formalities.
Prue took a few seconds to look over the piece before replying. "Well, Madonna of Meadow, Giovanni Berlini, 16th Century, fabulous piece. Worth three or four million dollars easily if it wasn't a copy," Prue explained.
Hannah laughed softly and looked toward the painting. "What makes you think it's a copy?" she asked.
Prue smiled slightly in response. "Too well preserved, no yellowing. Besides the framework is in pine and Italian painters used poplar back then," Prue replied, causing Hannah to frown and fall silent while Rex nodded, appearing impressed.
"Alright, what about this one?" Rex asked leading Prue toward a statue set up beside the painting.
"Daygar. Actually, this was the only sculpture he exhibited himself," she answered almost immediately upon seeing it. Hannah looked down pretending to fix her glasses and 'accidently' knocked the ladder beside her. A can of paint fell over and Prue looked up in time to see the paint spill out toward her. Prue jumped and put her hands out in front of her, accidently using her power to deviate the paint around her to splash onto the floor… and Hannah's shoes. Prue took a deep breath and put her hands down, hoping they hadn't realized what happened.
Rex moved toward her to grab her arm gently. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern. He glanced up at the ladder in surprise.
Prue, slightly shocked, didn't immediately respond, but after realizing she was supposed to answer jumped to reply. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," she insisted, nodding vigorously, feeling more embarrassed than anything.
"You sure? I'm sorry. I can't believe that happened," Rex apologized, letting her go.
"It's okay," Prue replied again, looking down at her hands.
"Well, uh, I really don't know what to say. Except. You're hired… If you still want the job of course," he offered, laughing softly and looking around the room again.
Prue stared at him in surprise. "Are you serious?" she asked in disbelief.
Rex smiled at her surprise and nodded. "Can you start Monday?" he suggested with a shrug.
"Yeah, absolutely," Prue agreed enthusiastically.
Rex grinned and shook her hand again. "Terrific. It's done then. We can sort out all the details when you come in. In the mean time, welcome aboard," he congratulated, glancing back toward Hannah.
"Thanks, bye," Prue responded and then waved as she passed by Hannah on her way out.
Hannah smiled snobbishly while Rex turned to watch her leave. When she had disappeared, he turned back to Hannah. "So what do you think?" he asked, looking at her pointedly.
Hannah glanced toward where Prue had left and then looked back at Rex. "I think, either she's the luckiest woman alive or… she's a witch."
The Halliwell Manor
"Piper, Phoebe, Buffy! Guess what," Prue called through the quiet house to bring her sisters and Buffy here so she could tell them all about the job. It was only 8:10 so there was a chance that Phoebe hadn't left yet.
"What?" called a soft voice to her right which caused Prue to stare as a old woman Piper brought home walked up to them.
Piper came from the kitchen. "Prue! Thank God you're home…" she called running up to her sister, carrying a bowl from the kitchen.
"Yeah, who uh…" Prue began but trailed off, not wanting to be rude with the old lady standing right there.
Piper however ignored her sister for a moment, turning to look at the woman and handing her a bowl. "Here you go, Britney, why don't you go sit down at the table okay?" she offered, pointing Britney toward the dining room and Britney slowly walked off.
"Uh, Britney?" Prue asked as she and Piper huddled together just outside the dining room.
"You aren't going to believe this… I'm not sure I do. I think…. No I know. This woman is Britney Reynolds." Piper explained.
Prue rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right Piper, and I'm Rosie O'Donnell," she countered, thinking Piper was joking.
"No, I mean it. Britney has a tattoo right? An angel on her right hand remember?" Piper reminded hers. Prue glanced at the old woman's right hand and stared in disbelief.
"It can't be…" Prue said, looking back at Piper for an explanation.
"That's what I thought at first but I started asking her questions. Things that only Britney would know…. She may be senile, but it was enough to convince me," Piper insisted, grabbing her sister's hand and pulling Prue toward the stairs where she thought she'd found something that might be related.
Stefan's Photography Studio
Phoebe pulled into the parking lot of the studio in the Quake van she borrowed from Piper. She turned the van off in the middle of the empty lot. She and Buffy each pulled a dress out. They walked around to the side door and Phoebe knocked loudly.
"Stefan, it's me Phoebe!" she yelled through the door to let him know she was here. With no answer forthcoming Phoebe grabbed the handle and was thrown into a premonition.
Herself and Buffy tied to tables and Javna approaching them. The ray beams shot out of his eyes and Premonition Phoebe screamed.
Phoebe stayed at the door for a moment, stunned in fear, before spinning around. "We're getting out of here," she told her cousin.
Buffy chased Phoebe back toward the van. "Why what did you see?" she asked. They threw their dresses down in the parking lot and jumped into the van. Phoebe reached to turn the keys that were still in the ignition when a hand grabbed Phoebe from behind the driver's seat.
The Halliwell Manor
Piper impatiently pulled Prue toward the Charmed Ones book.
"Piper, what are you talking about?" Prue demanded as they approached the open book.
"I'm telling you, I saw something about it in the Book of Shadows," Piper insisted, reaching the book and flipping through it. Prue glanced at the page Piper flipped to. "Okay, look, see… Javna feeds one week out of every year by stealing the life force from the young," she read quickly.
"By evoking the black magic power, the evil eye, to sustain eternal youth," Prue finished.
"It's got to be what happened to Britney," Piper declared, pointing at the page again.
Prue re-read the passage and nodded. "Okay, I agree, but there's got to be some way to reverse it somehow," she stated, glancing again at Piper.
"There is," Piper announced, turning several more pages in the book before stopping. "The Hand of Fatima…It's says the prophet Mohammad used it centuries ago to banish Javna back to…. Wherever the hell he came from."
"So what… we read this and he just disappears…" Prue asked. "How do we know he can't come back?"
"I guess we don't really… at least not at this point," Piper replied before glancing at Prue. "What do you think?"
"Well, even if we tried this we don't know who Javna really is, let alone where he is," Prue responded taking the book from Piper to flip through for any kind of supernatural demon locater.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Downstairs, Britney placed her bowl on the counter and approached the refrigerator where she gingerly took down the napkin with Stefan's address on it. She read it silently and some of the memories returned and she collapsed.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Prue and Piper looked up and shot worried glances at each other as they heard the fall echo through the house.
"Britney?" Piper called worriedly before dashing off down the stairs closely followed by Prue.
They rushed downstairs through the house and into the kitchen. They found Britney lying on the floor. "Oh my God, Britney, what happened?" Piper asked frantically.
"Are you all right?" Prue asked as she dropped down beside Britney.
"Should we call 911?" Piper suggested.
"And tell them what? That she's dying of old age at twenty five?" Prue retorted, shooting that idea down. Piper reached past her sister and grabbed the napkin with Stefan's address on it off the floor. "What is it?'
"It's a cocktail napkin from my restaurant… with Stefan's address on the back," Piper explained, sounding confused.
Britney weakly put her finger on the address. "Javna…" she whispered, her eyes wide with fright.
Prue and Piper. fell silent and cast fearful glances at each other. "Prue… that's where Phoebe and Buffy went," Piper finally choked out.
"Buffy went with her?" asked Prue as Piper nodded. She stood up and pulled Piper to her feet. Together they moved Britney to the couch before departing the Manor to head to Stefan's address.
Stefan's Photography Studio
Phoebe and Buffy vainly tried to break the bonds that held them tied to the tables. "Please, Stefan, or whoever you are. Let us go," Phoebe pleaded as Javna stepped out of the shadows toward her.
"It's Javna," he hissed slowly. His eyes began to glow red and Phoebe screamed.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Outside Prue and Piper pulled up beside the Quake van in the empty parking lot. Piper was the first to reach the van and look inside hopefully.
"Do you see anything?" Prue called as she turned the car off and followed her sister.
"No…" Piper whispered beginning to panic. "Maybe we should call the police." She gave Prue a worried glance.
Prue shook her head. "No, if Javna has them we're the only ones who can stop him," she berated gently.
"Yeah, but we need Phoebe to do it. The incantation only works with the three of us," Piper argued but was cut short as the two sisters heard Phoebe's scream coming from inside the building. It was followed by Buffy screaming, "Get away from her!"
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The ray beams shot out of Javna's eyes and hit Phoebe in the face. After only a few moments Prue and Piper had run into the building and Javna looked over at them, distracted. Before he could do anything Prue squinted her eyes and Javna was sent flying back into the wall and landed with a thud.
"Help Phoebe and Buffy," Prue ordered.
Javna regained his feet and reached out toward Prue. His eyes glowed red and the ray beams shot out into Prue's eyes.
Piper nodded as she rushed over to her sister and cousin. "Come on, Phoebe, Buffy, we don't have a lot of time," Piper explained quickly as she untied Buffy. She turned to her sister and began untying Phoebe.
Buffy got up off the table and glanced around frantically. She caught sight of the mirror on a small table on the other side of the room. "Prue! Mirror!" she shouted and the mirror appeared in her hand in a flurry of red flames shocking her.
Javna slowly advanced on Prue as Buffy rushed forward and held the mirror in front of Prue's eyes which caused the red beams to be deflected back at Javna who was sent back into the table.
"Now," Prue ordered as Piper and Phoebe came up beside her and Buffy. Buffy instinctively dropped the mirror and grabbed Piper and Phoebe's hands.
"Evil Eyes look unto thee, may they soon extinguished be. Bend they will to the Power of Three, eye of Earth, evil and accursed," they chanted. As happened when they faced Jeremy Buffy felt something within her spread out from her and through Piper and Phoebe and from them to Prue.
Javna tried to sit back up and reached toward them. "Can't stop me, I will live forever," he yelled while they began to chant again. Prue held out her hand and it began to glow with a bright white light that hit Javna in the chest and held him at bay.
"Evil Eyes look unto thee, may they soon extinguished be. Bend they will to the Power of Three, eye of Earth, evil and accursed."
They finished and Javna fell back and disintegrated, leaving them stunned. The glowing light disappeared from Prue's hand, but she didn't move.
"Very cool…" Phoebe whispered, causing Buffy to giggle softly and Prue and Piper to exchange a glance… It's so Phoebe.
The Halliwell Manor
Back at the Manor, Britney regained her youth and looked around in confusion as she didn't remember having come here.
Stefan's Photography Place
As Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Buffy left the building they heard the police sirens drive closer until they pulled into the parking lot. There was no getting away at this point so Piper, Phoebe, and Buffy huddled behind Prue next to the two cars. Several officers, including Andy and Darryl, jumped out of their vehicles and began to surround the studio.
"What the hell?" Darryl asked, noticing the Halliwells.
"Prue?" Andy called in surprise as he ran toward them, followed closely by Darryl. "What are you doing here?" he demanded while Darryl began to order some other officers to their duties.
Prue forced herself not to bite her lip or look at her family. "Well, we were just trying to get the van started," she lied, pointing towards the Quake van that Phoebe and Buffy had arrived in.
Piper jumped to back up the lie. "Yeah, Phoebe and Buffy called and said they were having car troubles," she added, casually pointing back toward Phoebe and Buffy.
"Stefan was going to take some pictures of us…" Phoebe explained to Andy's questioning look.
Andy looked from one Halliwell to the next. "Do you guys have any idea how lucky you are? This guy is the stalker…" he told them while the Halliwells glanced at each other and feigned their characteristic looks in such a situation. Prue looked worried, Piper leaned into Prue looking scared, Phoebe looked surprised and Buffy glanced around in disbelief.
Darryl came up behind Andy and got his attention. "There's no sign of him inside, but his car is here so he might still be around," he explained and then glanced at the Halliwells. "Stay with them," he ordered and walked off.
Andy watched Darryl leave and then looked back at the van. "Excuse me," he stated as he gently pushed Phoebe and Buffy farther away from the door to the van. He reached through the open window and turned the keys in the ignition. The van roared to life and Andy glanced back at them with a knowing look.
"Hey, how about that, you fixed it," Piper offered acting impressed only to receive a sarcastic grin from Andy.
"How about that…" he replied, searching the sisters' faces.
Buffy bit her lip under the scrutinizing eye and looked around at her cousins. "Nobody panic. Next time we have car trouble, we know who to call!" she responded enthusiastically. Prue smiled and looked down at the ground while Piper and Phoebe grinned awkwardly.
"Maybe we should go," Phoebe suggested, turning away from Andy and pulling Buffy along with her.
"Good idea," Andy agreed and walked to stand questioningly in front of Prue. Piper glanced between the two and hurried off after Phoebe and Buffy to wait in the car.
"Uh… thanks," Prue whispered, smiling awkwardly, her eyes flickering to the van and back to Andy who gave her a slight nod. "Call me?" she asked hopefully.
"Sure," Andy replied. Prue gave a slight nod in return and walked around Andy to join her sisters in the car. Andy turned to watch her leave before turning to find Darryl.
Buffy smiles as Prue walked up to them. "Prue's got a boyfriend…" she said teasingly as Prue glared at her.
March 5, 1997 - Wednesday
Quake
The next morning the Halliwell family took the time out of their daily schedule to meet at Quake. Phoebe was the last to arrive, pushing through the crowd to join Prue, Piper, and Buffy at the bar. As she made her way to them she stopped when she recognized the woman that Stefan had been having lunch with the day she had met him.
"Hi, how are you?" Phoebe asked, sounding concerned. The woman gave her a curious stare and just shrugged. Phoebe, realizing the woman didn't recognize her just turned and sat down with her sisters.
"Do you know that girl?" Piper asked curiously glancing around Phoebe to look at the woman.
"Buffy and I were almost that girl. She was one of Stefan's victims, obviously doesn't remember anything," Phoebe explained, leaning against the bar.
"Lucky her," Prue offered.
"No, lucky me and Buffy… I've learned my lesson. I've got to be more careful," Phoebe admitted causing Prue and Piper to glance at her in surprise. "I almost got Buffy and I aged beyond our years."
"I agree! No more powers unless it's necessary… mostly," Buffy agreed, taking a sip of her cola.
"Did I hear correctly? Did Phoebe actually agree to doing something wrong?" Prue asked Piper teasingly while watching Phoebe and Buffy's reaction.
"That's what I heard," Piper replied, playing with her straw.
Buffy gently hit Piper on the arm while Phoebe frowned. "Frame it… it won't happen again," Phoebe warned, causing Prue and Buffy to laugh.
"At least we helped those people. It's really nice to know our powers really are good," Piper added, leaning back into our chair.
"Yeah, good for everything but our love lives unfortunately, but I must admit they do come in handy every once in a while," Prue agreed.
"Uh huh, hypocrite," Phoebe accused pointing a finger at Prue while Buffy pointed at the television where the lottery numbers were about to be revealed.
"Hey, Pheebs, didn't you play the lottery?" she reminded Phoebe who glanced eagerly up at the television. The winning lottery tickets read. 4, 16,19,30,32, and 40.
Phoebe grinned and searched in her purse for her lottery ticket. "I won!" she exclaimed, earning a disapproving look from Prue. "Well, I did," Phoebe defended finally pulling her ticket out.
"Let me see," Buffy exclaimed taking it from her to see the numbers. As she watched they all disappeared and Phoebe slumped against the counter in disappointment.
Prue smiled and shook her head. "See, I told you. You can't intentionally use your powers for your own personal gain, remember?" she pointed out, laughing softly.
"Good thing I didn't take the tags off that dresses…" she said as she noticed Prue and Piper looking at her quizzically. "I bought Buffy the dress she was to wear at the shoot."
Prue looked at Piper who nodded in agreement at the unspoken thought.
"What?" Buffy asked as she noticed Prue and Piper's looks.
"Phoebe do you have the receipts?" asked Prue.
"Of course, I couldn't return them otherwise."
"Hand it over," said Prue as Phoebe dug in her purse. She pulled out the receipts and handed them to Prue. "Which one is Buffy's?"
Phoebe looked at the receipts and pointed to one. "That one."
Prue looked at it and then showed it to Piper. The receipt for the dress that Phoebe had gotten Buffy wasn't as bad as the one Phoebe had gotten for herself. In fact if she and Piper pooled their funds they actually might be able to pay for it with no problem. Prue handed the receipts back to Phoebe. "I will go with you to return them. Then Buffy's we will charge to my card." She looked at her cousin and smiled. "With everything you've been through in the last week and a half, you deserve something nice. Consider it a late birthday present."
Buffy smiled as she reached over and hugged Prue. "Thank you, Prue."
Anyways, at least the old couple didn't lose their house," Phoebe offered, shaking her head as Buffy and Piper joined in Prue's laughing.
Piper lifted her cup of cola off the table in front of her sisters. "A toast to the Power of Four, whether we like it or not," she toasted.
Before they could clink their glasses Prue spoke up, "I don't know about the Power of Four. In fact If I had to guess it is still the Power of Three, but since Buffy is our cousin and a a Halliwell. It just made the spell stronger but in the end a Power of Three spell will require the three of us to work. Still Buffy you are definitely Charmed like the rest of us."
"That I am," agreed Buffy as she remembered what Melinda Warren's prophecy had said about her. "So a new toast. To the Power of Three and the Charmed Slayer," she toasted and Prue, Piper and Phoebe jumped to join in. All four laughing at the other three as the cups clinked together.