Charmed: Another Halliwell

by Brenna's Urbangirl Projects

Summary: Buffy Summers is the daughter of Joyce and Hank Summers. Joyce was born Patience Joyce Halliwell she was Prue, Piper and Phoebe's aunt. When Joyce dies Buffy is left in the care of her cousins. Pairings: Prue, Piper, and Phoebe (and later Paige) canon pairings. Buffy/Dawn (Yes, Forbidden Sibling Love). A/U Set during and after Charmed Season 1 and Buffy season 1.

5. Chapter 5: Thank You For Not Morphing

Chapter 5: Thank You For Not Morphing

March 16, 1997 - Sunday

The Halliwell Manor / Neighbor's House

Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Buffy exited the Halliwell Manor on their way to the party being hosted across the street.

"So, we're agreed. Twenty minutes?" Prue asked, glancing at her three sisters for confirmation as they walked down the stairs.

"Prue, you can't do a party in twenty minutes," Piper argued, casting her older sister an annoyed glance.

"Watch me," Prue countered, running her hand through her hair and looking longingly back behind them to the house they had just left. She then looked at their cousin. "The same goes for you, Buffy."

Buffy rolled her eyes and switched sides of the group to push Prue along toward the party. "You know, Prue. It wouldn't kill you to relax a little," she pointed out casually.

"Sleeping is relaxing," Prue retorted, pulling out of her Buffy's grip and moving ahead of her and her sisters. She glanced back over her shoulder and added. "Which, by the way, is what you should be doing right now. You are still grounded, remember?" With that she spun back around and hurried toward the party, causing the other three to hurry to catch up.

"I thought you were dreading the party," Phoebe complained as she allowed herself to be pulled along by Piper.

"The sooner I get there the sooner I can leave," Prue explained quickly.

Phoebe smirked and Buffy giggled. "Prue's party tips. Meet, Greet, and Bail," Phoebe teased, smiling innocently as Prue gave her a glare.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but some of us have a job and some of us have school," Prue reminded her sisters and Buffy.

"And some of us have fun," Phoebe shot back, a little coldly.

"Yeah I even got Giles to let me have the night off so I don't have to patrol," Buffy reminded Prue.

"Hence why you should be in bed," said Prue. "Do I have to keep reminding you, you are grounded?"

"And some of us are having a really bad hair day," Piper complained. She ran a careful hand through her hair in an attempt to make it presentable.

"You know, that is a sign. Let's turn back now before it's too late," Prue suggested. She spun around and began walking swiftly through her sisters and Buffy back to the safety of the Manor.

Piper and Buffy both grabbed Prue from behind to keep her from running off. "No," Piper ordered, pulling her back around and holding onto her wrist tightly to ensure no more trouble.

"Prue, it's never too late for a party," Phoebe offered while laughing at Prue's failed attempt to escape.

"Never too late," Buffy agreed.

Piper, Phoebe and Buffy glanced teasingly over at Prue, who sighed loudly and allowed herself to be pulled across the street. "Hey! Remember my sweet sixteen?" Phoebe asked, changing the subject.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

In the bushes at the end of their property, a huge black dog watched the four sisters cross the street. As they made their way into the house hosting the party the dog's eyes glowed and it turned toward the Manor.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"I've got an idea. Why don't we throw a party and charge admission. It's a great way to make extra cash," Phoebe suggested.

Buffy smiled. "I like that suggestion then I could invite Willow and Xander over.

"Hey, I've got an even better idea. Why don't you just get a job?" Prue countered, her voice falsely chipper as they pushed through the crowd to meet the people hosting the party.

"Oh, the sisters Halliwell and their cousin. Now the party can begin," Marshall, the eldest of the hosts, greeted them pleasantly.

"It's about time you chicks showed," Cynda agreed and then took a sip of her drink.

Fritz, the youngest of them, watched Prue closely. "Hey, Prue, I'm glad you could make it," he welcomed softly.

Prue forced a fake smile for them and looked back at Fritz. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Fritz," she lied, looking beside her at Piper pleadingly.

Piper nodded slightly and jumped to start a neutral conversation. "Marshall, the place looks great," Piper complimented enthusiastically.

"Thank you, we're mostly restoring it. I didn't want to change it too much," Marshall appreciated, looking around at the house as he spoke. "You guys knew the old owners didn't you?" he asked casually.

"Yeah, we used to come over here after school," Phoebe answered, then she added jokingly, "We probably know the house better than you guys."

They all laughed and Marshall disagreed with her good-naturedly before looking over at Fritz and Cynda. "Hey, how's the bar?" he asked, nodding toward the crowd around the bar.

Fritz followed his gaze and frowned. "Oh, dry. I'll take care of it," he offered but was stopped by Cynda, who grabbed his arm.

"No, it's my turn," she argued, pulling Fritz back and glancing at the Halliwells for a moment. She crushed the can she held and pushed between the Halliwells toward the bar. Buffy and Prue moved hastily to one side while Piper and Phoebe moved the other way to let Cynda through. They frowned uncertainly before moving back together.

Marshall watched Cynda go and called after her. "Try to behave, Cynda, we have guests!"

"You know… sisters," Fritz explained to Prue, seeming embarrassed.

Prue smiled in false sympathy. "Tell me about it," she agreed, causing Piper to frown and lightly slap her on the arm while Phoebe and Buffy sent her disconcerted looks.

"So, uh, listen enjoy the party," Marshall wished as he and Fritz left to meet the other guests.

"Okay…" the Halliwells softly agreed and were left standing together in the middle of the crowd. Phoebe and Buffy looked around at the crowd expectantly while Prue grabbed Piper's hand to keep her from dispersing into the crowd.

"Okay, I came, I saw, I was perky. Now I just want my head on a pillow because I have to wake up early," Prue finally spoke, gaining her sisters' attention again.

"No!" Phoebe immediately exclaimed, a bit too loudly to be casual. "I mean not… yet," she tried to save.

Buffy cast her a warning glance while Phoebe looked to her for help. Buffy tried to nod casually while Piper and Prue stared at them in confusion. "Yeah, we just got here. You haven't had time to… relax yet," Buffy agreed awkwardly knowing that if she pushed too much that Prue would yet again remind her that she was grounded.

Prue frowned and looked at Piper, who just shrugged before looking back at Phoebe and Buffy. "Alright. What's going on?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Going on? What do you mean?" Phoebe asked with an innocent shrug of her shoulders. She looked over Prue's shoulder and smiled in satisfaction. She pointed feigning surprise. "Oh! What a coinkidink! Look who's here." Buffy smiled and waved while Prue and Piper spun around to see who they were talking about. Andy looked back at them and waved, making his way through the crowd.

Prue then turned her glare to Phoebe. "Phoebe, you didn't," she hissed.

"Well, your fingers weren't doing the walking. Someone's had to," Phoebe countered, crossing her arms defensively.

"We've been through this. Okay, Cop, witch. It's not a love connection," Prue defended.

"Boy, girl… lighten up," Phoebe shot back and then glanced at Buffy and Piper.

Buffy just nodded innocently while Piper crossed her arms looking irritated. "How come I wasn't in on this?" Piper demanded while glaring at Phoebe and Buffy.

"Because you'd tell her… whether purposely or not. We couldn't risk it," Buffy explained, grinning despite the glares from Prue and Piper. Phoebe grabbed Buffy and pulled her away from Prue to disperse into the crowd as Andy approached.

Buffy reached out to grab Piper and pull her along but Prue stubbornly held onto Piper. "You are not leaving! I was not prepared for this," Prue hissed to Piper while Phoebe and Buffy hesitated. They hadn't thought about that reaction.

Piper glanced over at Andy who was really close now and pried Prue's hands off her arm. "I'm so not getting in the middle of you two. You got it, Sis!" Piper encouraged, joining Phoebe and Buffy in the crowd, and leaving Prue to wait for Andy.

Phoebe and Buffy giggled as they pulled Piper past Andy. "Hi, Andy," Piper greeted quickly before following her Phoebe and Buffy. Andy waved and then looked Prue over.

"We're, uh, working on their subtlety," Prue joked, looking around Andy to her departing family.

Andy grinned and followed her gaze. "And then it's on to ending hunger and creating world peace, right?" he guessed lightly.

"Hmmm… what will I do with my Sunday?" Prue wondered, playing along with the joke.

"Funny you should ask. I don't mean to push you, but I was wondering if you're not doing anything… I kind of have these tickets, but they're for a Warrior's game and you probably wouldn't be interested so…" Andy trailed off casually, looking anywhere but at her eyes.

"Well, the team can't do any worse than they did last year. Did you see them get creamed by the Lakers?" she replied thoughtfully.

Andy laughed and finally looked into her eyes. "Impressive, is that a yes?" he asked hopefully.

Prue's smile faded and she looked down at her hands for a moment. "You know, um, I need to check my book because I might have a… thing," she explained awkwardly before biting her lip.

Andy smiled slightly. "A thing?" he repeated and nodded as he took a sip from his cup.

Fritz walked up from behind Andy and pointed at him. "So Prue, I hear you're friends with a cop," Fritz brought up, glancing from Prue to Andy and back again.

"Inspector actually…" Prue corrected, her eyes flickering nervously from Fritz to Andy, trying to judge his reaction. She looked down at her cup and began playing with the plastic stirring stick.

"Oh yeah, well, I've got these parking tickets," Fritz began before turning to Andy who narrowed his eyes slightly before turning to face him.

"My focus is mainly homicide and robbery," he explained abruptly, cutting Fritz off in his explanation.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got these parking tickets," Fritz began again as Prue backed away, heading for the door, and beyond that the safety of the Manor.

Andy noticed and tried to follow her, but Fritz stood in his way. "Prue, wait," he called desperately over the crowd.

Buffy let out a sigh as she looked at Piper and Phoebe. "You know what this means. She is going to expect me to be home, since I'm still grounded as she keeps reminding me."

"Yeah," Piper and Phoebe agreed. While Piper had agreed with the grounding, she thought Prue was being a little harsh in the punishment. A day or two should have been enough to teach Buffy a lesson. After all Buffy had been trying to save at first a friend and then the world itself.

Buffy followed Prue out of the house and across the street. Buffy was pouring in a tiny bit of her Slayer strength to catch up to Prue. "Hold up Prue don't walk so fast," she said as she pulled up alongside Prue.

Prue rolled her eyes as she glanced at Buffy. "Very funny when you could outrun me any day of the week," she said as they reached the Manor. She hesitated upon seeing the front door open. "Phoebe," she said in exasperation.

"I'm not Phoebe," Buffy reminded her.

Prue sighed in frustration as she motioned toward the front door.

Buffy looked at the door and saw it standing open and knew why Prue had said Phoebe, she believed Phoebe had left it open. "Let me go in first," she told Prue. She led the way into the house.

Prue closed the door behind them.

Buffy's eyes were pealed for anything out of the normal as her Slayer senses began screaming at her. "Prue," she said.

"What?" Prue asked glancing at her cousin.

"My Slayer senses are screaming at me, something is wrong," Buffy explained as she glanced at her eldest cousin.

Prue nodded as they took a few steps inside the house. They heard barking coming from the stairs and they halted. The same huge black dog that had been hiding in the bushes when they left was on the stairs barking and growling at them.

Buffy and Prue slowly backed toward the door and the dog immediately responded by following them, still barking and growling. Prue spun around in panic and shot out the door.

Buffy continued to backed out slowly keeping her eyes on the dog, her desire to protect Prue was greater than the desire to deal with the dog. As soon as she crossed the treshhold, she turned and followed her cousin back across the street.

The dog stopped on the threshold and its eyes began to glow, unnoticed by Prue or Buffy.

The Halliwell Manor

The Halliwells were crowded in the kitchen listening to Buffy and Prue's run in with the dog. Piper looked worried and kept shooting glances around the room as if she expected someone to jump out of the shadows, Phoebe appeared nonchalant as she ate cookies from a tin.

"How big was this dog again?" Phoebe asked as Prue walked by her to the sink.

"Huge, didn't you see those scratches on the attic door?" Prue said as she cleaned up the counter space.

"I wouldn't say huge but it was a fairly good size for a dog," Buffy said as she held Kit in her arms, petting the cat.

"I want to know how it got in," Piper stated, glancing over at Prue who just shrugged in reply.

"I don't know. Somebody probably left the front door open again," Prue replied with a pointed look at Phoebe.

Phoebe's eyes flashed indignantly. "Why do you always assume it was me? Why not Piper? Or Buffy?" she snapped, eating some more cookies and pointing to Piper and Buffy..

"Not it!" Piper retorted, opening a can of peanut butter as she made a sandwich for her sisters.

"I came out first, remember?" Buffy, also, pointed out as she dropped into a chair.

"Well, it's not a big deal. We've checked the house and nothing is missing except my Pat Boone Christmas CD," Phoebe responded sounding a little disappointed. Piper and Prue exchanged a glance as Prue made her way to lock the windows.

"No, it is a big deal. If there was a dog in the house then it had to have an owner. No dog I know can open that front door, much less reach top shelf. And Prue and Buffy came in together. What if they'd run into the owner?" Piper disagreed hastily.

Prue gave Piper a quick hug to calm her panicking younger sister.

"Hey, maybe we should get a security system," Phoebe suggested, glancing at Prue. Piper's words apparently hitting a nerve.

"No, they're way too expensive. Besides, after what happened, Andy will be checking in on us every five minutes," Prue argued, folding a few towels that had been sitting on the table in front of Buffy.

"Ooh. You told him?" Piper asked teasingly.

"We don't need Andy checking in every five minutes," said Buffy. "You do have the Charmed Slayer living in the manor, remember. I may not be able to use my magical powers against an intruder. I can still use my Slayer abilities, they can be explained away relatively easily. If I can tackle a vampire that has twice the strength of a normal everyday human being. I can take on a human being as long as they don't have a gun."

"So what do we do?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, either we can rely on Buffy to protect us or we can remember to lock the doors," Prue replied, sounding annoyed and glaring at Phoebe pointedly before heading into the laundry room to throw the towels in.

Phoebe nodded and sat her tin of cookies down on the table. "That is a really good idea, Prue," she agreed, following Prue to the laundry room door where she closed and locked Prue in before walking away while laughing. Buffy laughed and Piper couldn't hold back a smile as Prue tried to open the door.

"Unlock the door, Phoebe," Prue called warningly and with no response forthcoming glared at Piper, who, laughing softly, got up to open it.

Piper hesitated before turning the lock and glanced at Phoebe. "You might want to run, Sis," she suggested and Phoebe took off up the stairs, leaving one angry sister and a amused sister and cousin in the kitchen.

March 16, 1997 - Monday

Bucklands Auction House

Prue sat at her desk at the Auction House writing information down on a notepad that she got from her computer. She didn't notice anyone approach her desk until she was bathed in shadow and she heard someone clear their throat. She glanced up at a man who, the moment he got her attention, jumped to explain his presence.

"I was told you might be able to help me," he explained, taking off a ring from his finger and walking toward her. "I would like to have this… appraised," he added, showing her the ring and then placing it gently on her desk.

Prue glanced down at it for a moment before fixing him with a curious gaze. "Well, you would be better off going to the House's Appraiser," she admitted before looking back down at the ring. It seemed familiar…

"I've already been there. He'd need a week and I just wouldn't feel right without it. It's a family heirloom," the man replied as Prue picked up the ring and looked closer at it.

"I think I've seen a ring similar to this before. The setting is quite old. At least seventeenth century." Prue observed, getting up from the desk and heading toward her bookshelf where she pulled a large book off the shelf. "The stones look like crystallite… Keep in mind this is just an educated guess," she added as an afterthought as she set the book down at her desk.

The man grinned and sat down in the chair across from her, his eyes never straying from Prue. "Please, guess away," he allowed.

Prue flipped through several pages of the book before stopping. "If I'm not mistaken, it's a stone the Egyptians believed would protect them from spells, curses, evil spirits," she trailed off, biting her lip slightly. "This wouldn't be a wedding band by any chance would it?" Prue asked slowly.

"You tell me," he countered, appearing impressed.

"The stones are set in twos, a symbol of duality. Man, woman, again protection," Prue continued and trailed off as comprehension began to dawn.

"And what does all that tell you?" the man asked carefully.

Prue hesitated before finally looking up at the man in front of her. "Where did you get this ring? What did you say your name was?" she breathed, her voice catching in her throat.

He leaned forward, moving closer. "I think you know what my name is…. Prudence," he replied.

Prue stared at him for a split moment, trying to find her voice. "Get out! And stay away from us," she finally hissed, throwing his ring at him and standing up abruptly.

The man sighed and stood up, carefully placing his ring back on his finger before looking back at her. "I'm staying at the Ballmark. What do you say; you and your sisters join me for dinner? Let's say tonight? We can talk," he suggested calmly.

"After how you abandoned us? How dare you!" Prue snapped in disbelief, shaking her head.

"Fiery temper. I like that. Reminds me of someone I know," he answered thoughtfully looking her over again.

"I'm nothing like you. I would never leave my responsibilities, my family," she retorted, carefully trying to keep her anger under control.

"I see we have some issues to work through," the man observed.

"Oh, we have the whole subscription," Prue agreed, the words barely more than a whisper. "Now, get out before I have you thrown out," she ordered.

"Is that anyway to talk to your father?" he asked rhetorically. He smirked before turning and leaving her.

Prue waited until she had heard the door close before collapsing into her chair and immediately grabbing the phone. "Piper Halliwell, please. Piper? I need to talk to you…" Prue spoke quickly, nervously, upset.

Café Francisco

Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Buffy all made plans to meet for lunch after the word of Victor's return spread through the family. They met at an outside café where at first silence was the only greeting as they all tried to process this drastic change.

"I wonder why he went to you first. I mean, why not me or Phoebe?" Piper wondered, sounding a little upset.

"At least he knows you exist," Buffy pouted. "I wasn't born for several years after Aunt Patty's divorce."

"Piper, it's not like I won the lottery," Prue countered with a roll of her eyes. "And, Buffy, you don't to get to know him." So far her sisters and Buffy weren't taking it the way she had hoped. The way that would keep them from getting hurt.

"What was he like? Did he ask about us?" Phoebe asked, looking hopefully up at Prue, who frowned at the question.

"Actually, no," Prue reluctantly answered and hastily jumped to make her sisters feel better when Piper sighed and looked more upset and Phoebe bit her lip to keep from saying something. "Think about it. He abandoned us. He was a no-show for twenty years and then what, suddenly here he is. Why now?" she challenged.

"Maybe he just wants to be part of our lives?" Piper suggested, glancing at Prue hopefully.

"That would be nice," Buffy said, agreeing with Piper. "Despite the way you feel about him Prue. I would still like to get to know him, he is after all my uncle."

Prue looked back at Piper and shook her head. "After all this time? Don't get your hopes up," she replied, trying to keep rational without hurting her sisters even more. "Buffy, again no you don't, really you don't want to get to know him."

"Well, there's only one way to find out. Why wait for dinner? Let's go see him now," Phoebe suggested.

"Will you be rational, Phoebe? Don't you find it a little suspicious that once we find out we're…" Prue trailed off angrily as a waitress came up to take her plate in front of her.

"Let me get that for you," the waitress offered, not noticing how angry Prue was from the interruption. Piper forced a polite smile to the waitress before she left.

Prue watched her go and then leaned forward, lowering her voice so as not to be heard. "Just when we find out we're witches he shows up, but when Mom dies he's nowhere to be found," she finished, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"He sent us birthday cards," Phoebe quickly reminded Prue.

"Selective memory," Prue retorted, crossing her arms pointedly. "Grams always told us he was a threat to us. There is no reason to think that's changed," she added.

Piper took a deep breath before speaking her thoughts, knowing Prue wasn't going to agree with her. "Prue, it's not that I don't see your point… but you knew him. We didn't. Why can't we have a chance to know him now?" she asked, carefully avoiding eye contact with her elder sister.

"I am in agreement with Piper," Buffy added. "You got that chance, the three of us didn't."

Prue sighed and glanced at Piper and Buffy trying to think of the best way to say what needed to be said. "Because we don't really know why he's here and until we do… we can't trust him," she explained. Piper bit her lip and looked back down at her plate while Buffy and Phoebe just shook their heads looking annoyed.

Ballmark Hotel

At the Hotel Prue had said Phoebe's father and Buffy's uncle was staying at, Phoebe and Buffy approached the room the secretary had directed was inhabited by him.

"You ready?" Phoebe asked as she glanced at Buffy who took a deep breath and then nodded. She turned to the door and knocked softly.

Through the door they heard a man's voice calling. "Entrée."

Phoebe quickly opened the door, she and Buffy pushed in nervously. They walked down the hall and halted as they saw a man getting a massage. They hesitated a moment before taking a step forward.

"Daddy?" Phoebe asked, her voicing cracking from nerves.

The man looked over in surprise and pushed up from the massage table. "Well, well. Isn't this a nice surprise?" he said, smiling as he got to his feet for a better look at Phoebe.

"I'm sorry just to show up like this…" Phoebe rambled, biting her lip slightly. Buffy coughed reminding her cousin she was there. "I know I was supposed to wait until dinner but I…"

"No, nonsense," he broke her off while putting on his bath robe. "Welcome, let me get a good look at you. This is my baby girl. Little…Piper?" he asked uncertainly as the massage lady left the room. Phoebe frowned looking crushed. "Phoebe…" Victor whispered, shaking his head. He then looked at Buffy and frowned as he wondered who she was. If Phoebe was his baby girl, then that meant this was someone else, he didn't know. Why had Phoebe brought her?

"Yeah, that's okay. People confuse us all the time," Phoebe lied in an attempt to act as if it didn't faze her. Buffy coughed again to get Phoebe's attention. "Right," she said as she looked back at her father. "Do you remember Aunt Joyce?"

"Are you kidding? I should be slapped and persecuted. Let me make it up to you. How about some room service?" he offered. As he made his way to the phone behind Phoebe he tried to remember someone named Joyce, then it hit him, Joyce was Patience's middle name. "You mean Patience? Joyce was her middle name if I am remembering right."

"We just ate actually," Phoebe replied quickly. "Yes, that's Aunt Joyce. At some point Aunt Joyce started going by her middle name. We don't know when, nor do we remember why. But this is her daughter, your niece, Buffy."

He turned around to face them again. "A drink? You are legal, right, Phoebe?" he inquired, causing Phoebe to smile. He looked at Buffy and smiled. "Soda?"

"Barely, but no thanks," she assured him.

"No thanks," said Buffy.

He nodded as he looked at Buffy for a moment. "You look your mother," he said. "Anyways technically speaking you wouldn't be my niece since Patty and I got divorced before you were born. But if you want to consider me your uncle, I would be proud to accept the title."

Buffy smiled as a tear escaped her eye. "I'd like that actually," she said.

"So how is your mother?" he asked. He instantly regretted the question seeing the crestfallen look on both his daughter and niece's faces. "What happened?"

"Mom was murdered," Buffy said.

He instantly moved to Buffy and pulled her into his arms, offering her his condolences.

"Aunt Joyce and Uncle Hank were divorced," said Phoebe. "And because of Uncle Hank's job he requested that Buffy be placed with Prue, Piper and I, we became Buffy's legal guardians."

He nodded as he stepped back and decided to try something to take their minds of Joyce's death. "How about a massage? I can call Lucy back," he suggested with a point to the door where the massage woman had just left.

Buffy and Phoebe shook their heads. "No really, thank you," Phoebe insisted slowly. "I just wanted to look at you and to introduce you to Buffy."

Victor smiled and took a few steps toward Phoebe. "It's like looking in a mirror, isn't it? You've got your Daddy's eyes, you know that?" he pointed out, laughing softly.

Phoebe nodded and laughed as well. "I noticed that," she agreed.

They fell silent for a moment before Victor finally asked. "How about a hug?" He stretched his arms out and after a moment's hesitation, Phoebe fell into him.

As they hugged Phoebe was thrown into a premonition.

Someone was handing The Charmed Ones Book of Shadows to Victor, who held The Charmed Slayer Book of Shadows. He smirked triumphantly as soon as he took the second book.

Phoebe was brought back to reality when the hotel phone began to ring loudly.

Victor sighed and let her go to grab up the phone. "Somehow they always manage to find me," he apologized as Phoebe backed away slowly.

Phoebe glanced at Buffy and nodded back towards the door. "You know… its okay. We'll just see you at dinner. Buffy and I've gotta go," Phoebe stammered, turning around. She and Phoebe ran out the door before Victor could stop them.

"Phoebe! Buffy! Wait!" Victor called after them but they were already gone.

As they exited the hotel Buffy grabbed Phoebe's arm stopping her cousin right there on the sidewalk. "What did you see?" she demanded.

"What makes you think I saw anything?" Phoebe asked looking at her cousin.

"Have you forgotten I get them too?" Buffy asked. "I think I should be able to recognize the signs."

Phoebe let out a sigh. "I saw him stealing both of our books," she admitted.

Halliwell Manor

Outside the Manor, the mailman walked up to the front door, whistling as he checked that the address was correct. He stood outside the door for a moment and watched as his finger shifted into a key that would open the door. He looked around the neighborhood doing a last check before he unlocked the door and pushed inside. He walked purposely through the foyer and broke into a run as he reached the stairs, heading up onto the next floor.

The mailman dropped his bag next to the attic door and tried to forcefully turn the knob to the locked attic door. He tried slamming the door down but it didn't budge. Finally, getting irritated, he kicked the door hard enough that it flung off its hinges and landed on the floor. He stepped over the mess and headed straight for The Charmed Ones Book of Shadows and The Charmed Slayer Book of Shadows that were in their usual places upon their pedestals. He wasted no time in grabbing both books and running back down the stairs.

He crossed the threshold with the books and they magically left his hands and flung themselves back into the Manor. The mailman threw his hands up in frustration and went back to pick them up. Keeping a firmer grip than before he crossed the threshold and stubbornly continued to try to pull the books out of the house. However, the books fought back and in a final act of desperation he tried to throw them out the door. As they hit the threshold, they glowed and slammed back to the ground as if they had hit a wall.

The books glowed as he continued to try and pull them out of the house. Suddenly he heard a car door slam and he looked over his shoulder to see Prue walking up to the Manor, her eyes on her purse as she tried to find her keys. He quickly went back into the house, shutting the door behind him, and throwing both books into the living room. Before Prue entered, he shape shifted into Andy and walked farther into the Manor.

Prue entered the Manor and looked up in surprise to find Andy already in the house. "Andy? What are you doing here?" Prue asked, stopping dead in front of the door.

Andy spun around acting surprised to see her. "Oh! Door was open," he lied casually as he strolled toward her.

"Again?" Prue asked, sounding frustrated.

"Yeah, I, uh, came by to check up and it was open. I looked around and everything appears to be in order," he replied as Prue set her paperwork down on the table beside the door. She froze as she saw both Book of Shadows lying on the floor in the living room. "Do you want me to check upstairs?" he asked, pointing up the stairs.

Prue forced a smile and walked toward him, hoping he hadn't seen them. "Uh, no, no, that's okay, really," she assured him and then narrowed her eyes slightly, sending the books sliding under a shelf out of sight. "Oh and um, about tomorrow night. I've changed my mind. We're on," she added.

Andy looked confused. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"Well, you'll never guess who popped back into my life after twenty years. Victor, my dad," she explained, looking away from his eyes to hide how much his surprise visit was affecting her.

"Your dad?" Andy stated, nodding awkwardly.

"Yeah, he wants dinner and I would really rather avoid that. Too bad the game's not tonight," Prue lamented, misinterpreting his confusion. Andy was about to say something when there was a knock on the Manor door and Cynda entered the house. "Hi, Cynda," she greeted politely.

"Hey. Everything okay?" Cynda asked, glancing at Andy.

"Yeah, thanks," Prue replied, smiling gratefully.

"Okay, bye," Cynda waved and left.

"Nice party last night," Prue offered as she left before turning to look back at 'Andy.'

Andy smiled slightly and glanced at her. "I guess I should be going too," he announced, leaning forward and kissing her lightly on the cheek before leaving.

Prue watched him leave and locked the door behind him. She went and picked up the books, looking at them curiously. She carried the books back up to the attic where she halted, seeing the destruction of the attic door. "What the hell?" she asked though there was no one to hear her.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The Halliwells were all in various parts of the kitchen discussing the second break-in of the Manor. Prue and Piper were shuffling through drawers trying to locate the phone book while Buffy was sitting at the dining room table, pretending to read a book, but actually listening intently. Phoebe walked from the kitchen to sit at the table as well.

"You don't know that for sure," Phoebe argued with Prue as she sat down.

"I know plenty. First someone rips off the attic door then both Book of Shadows are found downstairs. Isn't that enough?" Prue retorted, getting to her feet as Piper found the phone book in the drawer she was searching.

"Why would someone want the books?" Piper asked as she walked to the table where she sat the phone book down. "Here," she offered, passing the book to Prue, who had followed her.

"Obviously someone knows what they can do," Buffy jumped in and ignored the look Phoebe shot her.

"Yeah, they want their power. Our power," Prue agreed, nodding slightly to Buffy as she sat down across from Piper at the table.

Piper leaned forward and lowered her voice slightly for emphasis. "That would mean that it's someone who knows us and knows that we are witches," she observed, giving Prue a pointed look that Prue ignored as she jumped to accuse Victor.

"Yeah, someone like Victor," Prue agreed, voicing the thoughts that Piper had been telling her to keep silent.

"What? Dad?" Phoebe spoke up in disbelief. She sent a glare at Buffy as if she expected her cousin to say something, but Buffy had gone back to pretending she was reading.

"Look, just think about it. The moment he shows up someone makes two attempts to grab the books. Coincidence? I think not," Prue argued, causing both Piper and Phoebe to look a little annoyed.

"The craft is a chick thing, Prue. It's passed down through the female line. There's a good chance that Dad doesn't even know we're Charmed," Piper defended rationally.

"With the exception of Buffy, who he doesn't know is his niece, there's a good chance he does we are," Prue countered.

Phoebe looked at Buffy as she remembered her premonition of him getting the Books

"What would he want with the Books? And why would he take them from us?" Piper retorted as Prue sighed and shook her head. She glanced over at Phoebe who was unusually silent. "Phoebe, help me out here… Phoebe," she prompted.

Phoebe was still silent and Buffy glanced up from her book to stare at Phoebe, as if to say we need to tell them.

Phoebe took a deep breath knowing Buffy was right. "Okay, let's just say for the sake of argument let's say he does know about ours, and let's assume he knew both mom and Aunt Joyce were witches so he would know about Buffy's. Now let's assume he does want the books. Wouldn't he of taken ours with him when he left? Wouldn't he have made an excuse to see Aunt Joyce and take hers. He wouldn't of left them behind," Phoebe pointed out while staring at Prue.

"Alright, we have to call the cops and report it as a break-in," Piper decided. They were out of options.

"And tell them what? That someone broke into our house to try and steal our broomsticks. I mean, please. Besides Andy has already been here," Prue countered while Phoebe gave her eldest sister a pointed glare.

"Oh, so Andy was here again? Talk about convenient. Did you ever think of pointing the finger at him?" Phoebe accused, receiving a deadly glare from Prue.

Buffye snorted and rolled her eyes and Piper sat back in her chair, shaking her head.

"In case you've forgotten, Prue left Andy at the party. We saw he never left until Prue came running back after the fright with the dog," Buffy pointed out coldly. "Besides, it's Andy. That has to be the most ridiculous accusation I've ever heard. Including the ones on T.V.," she added.

Piper gave Phoebe a warning glare as it looked like her younger sisters were about to go at it.

"Andy was probably the one that scared Victor away," Prue agreed, carefully keeping her voice under control and watching her sisters and Buffy intently. "Until we find out what's going on and whether Victor is involved or not… We have to hide the books. That or we can't leave the house."

"Well, then we hide the books because I'm going to dinner tonight. I want to see Dad," Piper replied, her voice a little icy.

"So do I," Phoebe and Buffy insisted as they got up from the table and walked out of the kitchen.

"I've already seen him," Prue answered to Piper's silent question. Piper nodded looking disappointed but also knowing arguing would do nothing. She left the room after Phoebe and Buffy to get ready for dinner.

Ristorante Milano

Buffy, Piper and Phoebe met Victor at the restaurant he had suggested later that night. Victor had made reservations at the fancy restaurant so they only waited a few minutes before being seated. Victor ordered the appetizer dish and it was immediately brought in and sat in the middle of the table.

"Girls, it's so nice to see you. It's not like we don't have a lot to talk about," he admitted as soon as they had all made themselves comfortable around the table.

"We do," Phoebe agreed enthusiastically. She glanced at Piper who raised her eyebrows at Phoebe's enthusiasm as she nibbled on a carrot taken from the appetizer plate. Phoebe smiled and spoke in a more neutral voice. "I mean, yeah, we have a few questions."

Victor laughed and turned his attention to Piper. "You know the last time we ate together you would only eat food that was white. I'm glad to see you have outgrown it," he commented, making Piper blush slightly.

"Get out. That's just so funny," Buffy giggled.

"That's right… I was four," Piper realized, joining in on Buffy's giggling.

Victor then turned his attention to Phoebe. "Phoebe, that would have made you what? One?" Victor asked and Phoebe nodded slightly. He turned toward Buffy. "And of course you weren't born yet. If I may ask?"

Buffy nodded in understanding that he was asking how old she was. "I'm sixteen. I was born on January 20, 1981."

"Which places you at six years younger than Phoebe," Victor said. He looked back at Phoebe. "You know, you couldn't walk yet, but you could swim. You were a fish," he announced, causing Phoebe to laugh. Buffy and Piper glanced at her and couldn't help but join in. Victor watched them intently before speaking again. "This feels right doesn't it? This feels natural, almost like normal."

"Almost…" Piper replied, looking down at her plate. "It's just, um, well why? After all this time, why here? Why now?" she asked seriously.

"Well, I've heard the food is pretty good here and it is dinner time," Victor joked. Phoebe and Buffy laughed while Piper forced a smile, trying to decide whether she was annoyed at his dodging or if she thought it was funny. Before anything else could be said the waiters brought their food out and placed it in front of them. "Bon appetite," he suggested.

Halliwell Manor

The beeping of the microwave announced that the food had finished heating up. Prue got up from her chair at the table and took a container out of the microwave. She poured the contents, consisting of broccoli, onto a plate and then looked up as the door bell sounded through the house. She slowly left the kitchen and approached the front door, hesitating slightly before pulling it open to see Andy leaning casually against the door frame.

"My plans for tonight fell through, figured I'd stop by," he explained the moment he saw the door open. Prue smiled slightly in surprise and Andy laughed at her expression. She rolled her eyes and stepped back, opening the door wider, to allow him through.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Prue took a deep breath and passed a cup of coffee to Andy "Okay, well, basically I was at work this morning, working on some paperwork when there he was. He just showed up.

"I can't believe it. How are you dealing?" he wondered, not taking his eyes off Prue as she moved to sit down across from him with her cup of coffee.

"Honestly, I'm not," she admitted, curling up in her chair.

"I don't blame you. What do you think he wants?" Andy asked gently.

"Dinner," Prue answered promptly, playing with her coffee cup. "Buffy, Piper and Phoebe are there with him now," she added her voice barely more than a whisper. She shook her head slowly refusing to look at Andy. If she looked at Andy she wouldn't be able to hold it together any longer. "You know they just don't understand. They don't know him like I do. I can't believe I let them go…" she whispered and then bit her lip, knowing she couldn't have stopped them.

"I can't believe they went," Prue corrected herself. She could understand Phoebe and Buffy ignoring her advice, but Piper. She sighed heavily and was silent for a moment before continuing. "He's acting like no time has passed. Like I'm still his little girl and I'm not. There are things I want to tell him, I want him to know what he missed. You know, like the time I broke my arm, the day I finally passed my driver's test, our prom."

"Didn't we miss that too?" Andy couldn't help but ask rhetorically. He smiled softly and Prue couldn't help but smile in return.

The relief was only temporary and the smile fell. "I want him to know. I want him to want to know. And I'm sorry, but I also want to know where the hell he's been my whole life. Why didn't he come back until now? He needs to know that's not okay," she continued, her voice rising slightly in her anger. Prue looked up at Andy to see him listening intently to what she had been saying.

"So tell him," Andy finally challenged. Prue sighed and looked back down at her coffee. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this, but she knew he was right. "I'll drop you off," he added softly, his eyes never leaving her.

Ristorante Milano

Andy left Prue outside the restaurant and she determinedly forced herself to stay calm as she entered the restaurant and saw her sisters and her cousin with him. With her… father.

Victor was the first to see her and he stood up as she approached. "Prudence," he greeted while Buffy, Phoebe and Piper glanced behind them in surprise to see Prue coming toward them.

"Did I miss much?" Prue asked coldly. She approached and then stopped just in front of him.

"Uh, just catch up. Dad was filling us in… memory lane," Phoebe explained nervously, glancing at Prue who appeared none-too-happy to be here.

"Uncle Victor had some funny stories of when you guys were kids," Buffy added.

"Has he mentioned where he's been all of our lives?" Prue wondered, not taking her eyes off the man in front of her to glance at her sisters or her cousin though the question was directed to them.

"Prue…" Piper began trying to search for something to say that would relax her sister.

"I don't understand. If you can afford a spot like this why didn't you help out when Grams died? We actually could have used it then?" Prue interrupted while Victor sat back down in his chair watching her closely.

"Give him a chance, Prue. Dad's explained. The money, all this, it's new," Piper defended carefully with a glance up at her sister.

"Yeah Prue give him a chance," Buffy agreed.

"It's okay, Piper, Buffy. I'm a big boy. I didn't come back before because I was afraid I'd disappoint you," he explained while Phoebe bit her lip and looked pleadingly at Piper as Prue responded.

"Too late," Prue countered shortly.

"I wonder what's keeping that dessert," Piper hastily tried to change the subject. Phoebe smiled weakly at her effort but it was ignored by everyone else.

Victor stared calmly at Prue and waved his hand at the empty seat. "Please, sit down. Have something to eat," he offered and Prue shook her head.

"I'm not hungry," she replied and Victor smiled slightly

"Always in a hurry, Prue. You skipped crawling and went straight to walking," Victor reminisced while Prue narrowed her eyes.

Buffy giggled. "That sounds just like Prue, always on the fast track," she said.

"Oh, we're sharing memories. Well, I've got one of my own. Your back walking out the door," she accused. Victor looked away and Phoebe amd Buffy sighed, shaking their heads slowly. Victor looked behind him to see the waiter coming back with their dessert. When he passed by Victor stuck his foot out, tripping the waiter who dropped the dessert.

Piper gasped and threw out her hands causing the restaurant to freeze. There was silence in which the Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Buffy looked around them and exchanged fearful glances. Finally Piper got up from her seat and took the Flambeau from the falling waiter's hands. Just as she grabbed it the restaurant unfroze and the waiter fell flat on his face behind her.

"Who wants Flambeau?" Piper asked cheerfully, changing the topic again.

"Nice reflexes," Victor commented, smiling knowingly at Piper who frowned slightly. "Hmmm… Now let me get this straight. Piper, you freeze time. Prue, don't you move objects? And what's your special trick, Phoebe? Premonitions? What is yours, Buffy? As far as I knew there were only three," he said, looking at each of them in turn. Buffy, Prue, Piper, and Phoebe exchanged stunned looks. "Perhaps we should talk about this elsewhere?" he suggested.

Halliwell Manor

Prue, Piper, Buffy, Phoebe and Victor pulled up in Piper's jeep and walked toward the front door.

As they walked in three crows squawked and flew out the door. The Halliwells ducked and Victor smiled slightly. "Friends of yours?" he asked sarcastically. Piper frowned looking embarrassed and Prue grabbed her hand pulling her inside followed by Phoebe, Buffy and finally Victor.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

In the conservatory, Victor, Piper, Buffy and Phoebe were sitting on the couches looking at some of the many pictures around the room. Prue came walking in while they were laughing at a particularly funny picture.

"Someone left a window open which is probably how the birds got in… What is so funny?" Prue asked, seeing them all surrounding a picture.

"Do you remember the day this was taken?" Piper wondered taking the photo and handing it to Prue, who sat down in an armchair before taking it.

"Yeah, family picnic. It rained," Prue replied, smiling slightly at the memory while Piper watched her hopefully.

"And your mother packed us all up and she brought us all home and we had the picnic right here in the living room," Victor added, waving his arm around the conservatory laughing. "Remember that Prue?"

Prue's eyes flickered to look at him. "Barely," she answered coldly.

"This one… This one was at one of your piano recitals. Not a very good shot… my fault. I had to take the pictures that day. Your mother was too busy holding her breath. If you look closely, you see there. That's her," he pointed out after approaching Prue and handing her the photo.

"I never noticed that before…" Prue admitted softly, setting the picture down carefully next to her.

Victor looked over and reached for another one. "Uh oh… This used to be a five by seven. When I was still in it," he explained, turning it around so that Piper and Phoebe could see it too.

Piper laughed softly and Phoebe looked a little embarrassed.

"I think Grams cut you out," Phoebe responded, trying not to laugh too much. That caused her to think of Joyce. They didn't have any pictures of Joyce, and she realized that something had happened between Joyce and Grams after Buffy was born. Which likely explained why none of them had known about Buffy till they became her guardian.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff in the attic. Grams left us so many things," Piper added, pointing up the stairs.

"That's not all she left us," Phoebe commented eagerly.

"Phoebe, let's not go there," Prue ordered sending a glare at her little sister.

"What? It's not like he doesn't already know. And I'm sorry, but it's kind of a relief to talk to someone about it," Phoebe pointed, glancing defiantly at Prue.

"Does anybody want coffee?" Piper suggested hastily, trying to change the subject to keep a fight from breaking out.

"I mean, one day I'm a member of the 'Y' generation with average hair and a thing for caffeinated beverages and the next I am a witch," Phoebe continued as if Piper hadn't said anything.

Piper stood up hastily and turned to Victor who sat down looking amused. "Dad, do you take cream or, um, sugar with that?" Piper asked, walking towards the kitchen but ended up stopping next to Prue.

"I just read from the book and WHAM! I'm Tabitha!" Phoebe added enthusiastically. Prue sent a frustrated glare at Phoebe who didn't notice and continued. "The only thing is, I, like Buffy, got stuck with the power to see the future. How uncool is that?"

"Well, from what Patience always said it was actually considered to be one of the more desirable powers," Victor answered. "So that's your power, Buffy?" (A/N)

Buffy let out a sigh. "Sort of," she admitted.

"Unless you see things you don't desire…" Phoebe countered causing Victor to look at her curiously.

"So, how long have you known? About us, our powers? How long?" Prue demanded, her arms crossed suspiciously.

Victor turned his gaze to meet his eldest daughter. "I didn't. I knew there was a possibility. That's why I came back. To see. It must have happened after your grandmother died," he guessed, his gaze flickering from Prue to Piper then to Phoebe. He then looked at Buffy. He knew that if Joyce had children she would have bound her child's powers as well after the pact with Nicholas. "And when your mother…"

"Yep! I just read an incantation from the book… Phoebe trailed off being interrupted by Buffy.

"I too read an incantation from my mom's book, and…" Buffy trailed off being interrupted by Prue.

"Phoebe! Buffy!" Prue snapped warningly, her icey blue-grey eyes throwing daggers at her younger sister and cousin.

"Ah, the Book of Shadows. Not exactly summer reading. Is it still in the attic?" he asked, not noticing the stare war going on between the three sisters and Buffy. "You know I haven't seen it in years. Mind if I have a look?" he wondered as he turned his attention to Buffy. "So Patience had one also, doesn't surprise me to tell the truth."

Prue narrowed her eyes dangerously at him while Piper frowned and looked at him suspiciously.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"What exactly are you accusing me of Prue?" Victor calmly asked his eldest daughter from where he stood by the window.

"Figure it out," Prue snapped, crossing her arms across her chest.

Buffy and Phoebe stepped between Prue and Victor, turning against Prue while Piper stayed in the back watching the fireworks. "Come on, Prue. Take it easy," Phoebe shot back, her voice rising while Prue turned on her.

"I am in agreement with Phoebe," Buffy added.

"Are you kidding me? Am I the only who sees what's going on here?" Prue yelled rhetorically.

Phoebe turned away in frustration, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically.

"Can't we all just take a deep breath…?" Piper began, getting to her feet, but she was cut off by Prue turning back to look at her.

"Think about it, Piper. He wines and dines and now he's back in the house he hasn't set foot in for twenty years and the first thing he asks is 'Where's the Book of Shadows?'" the eldest Halliwell interrupted. "The second thing he asks is, "Where is Buffy's Book of Shadows?"

Piper looked down at her hands.

Phoebe shook her head angrily. "You're just looking for something to blame him for!" she accused.

Prue didn't respond and stared straight at Victor. "Admit it. Tell them why you're here," she challenged, her eyes narrowing dangerously at her father. Victor looked up to meet his daughter's gaze.

"Prue, stop!" Buffy growled.

Prue ignored her and continued talking to her father. "For the first time in your life, Victor, tell them the truth," she insisted and he gave her a slight nod.

"Alright, fine," he agreed taking a few steps closer to Prue, his eyes never leaving her. "You're right. I am after the book. Well both books, now. That's exactly the reason why I came back," Victor admitted, his eyes flickering to Buffy and Phoebe who stood beside Prue and then to Piper in the back.

"Dad…" Phoebe whispered, sounding hurt.

"But not for the reasons you would like to believe. It would make it easy for you, Prue, wouldn't it? If I were evil? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, I'm not. I'm here to protect you," he continued.

"Yeah right," Prue breathed sarcastically.

"To protect us from what?" Piper asked cautiously, her arms crossing her chest.

Victor looked over at Piper hopefully. "From yourselves! That's why I want those damn books. It's where the Power of Three started and where it must end," he insisted. "And Buffy's magic started with Patience's book. Even then Patience likely at once time didn't have a book of her own so technically speaking Buffy's magic comes from your book as well." He walked past Buffy, Prue and Phoebe toward Piper.

Buffy, Prue and Phoebe turned to watch him. "But… ours is part of us, just as Buffy's part of her. Part of who we are," Phoebe protested in disbelief.

"That's what your mother and Patience believed too. Before they killed them," Victor replied, looking back at Phoebe and Buffy.

Buffy realized that even though neither she nor Phoebe had told him who had murdered her mom that he had put two and two together, and that he had surmised it was a warlock had killed her mom.

Piper gasped and took a step back. "What are you saying?" she asked, glancing from Victor to Prue for an answer, her eyes wide.

"You have no idea what evil is out there," Victor began to explain but was cut off by Prue who was quickly losing what little patience she had to begin with.

"Oh, I think we have a pretty good idea," Prue snapped, pointedly looking at Victor who sighed in frustration and moved back toward her. Trying to make her understand.

"Listen to me, Prue. Those books are a magnet for evil. As long as you have them, as long as you use them, you're in danger. All of you," he tried to explain but it just made Prue even angrier and she advanced toward him quickly.

"You want to know what's a magnet for evil," Buffy said angrily. "I am not those books. I am the Charmed Slayer. Even if I wasn't a witch evil would still seek me out.. I was called as a Slayer a year ago. I have known for that year that I would possibly die before I turn eighteen." It was then that a fireball formed in her hand. "This helps me fight vampires, to live past my eighteenth birthday. You are not taking that away from me!" She turned and walked toward the window and stared out it.

Prue, Piper and Phoebe looked at Buffy knowing how she felt. To be faced with the possibility of dying was difficult for anyone to deal with, it was so much harder for a teenager who had yet to truly experience life.

"You are unbelievable! After all these years of being an absentee dad then you just waltz back into our lives and tell us how to live!" she shouted. This time neither Buffy, Piper or Phoebe held Prue back as she accused Victor. "You're not even Buffy's father and since the divorce you're not even her uncle yet you're trying to tell Buffy what to do just like us."

"I never wanted you to have those powers in the first place. I battled with your grandmother after your mom died. She wanted you find out you were witches as you grew up. I didn't. I fought for you, hard. But your grandmother was too strong," Victor argued desperate for them to understand. "And about Buffy do you really want her to grow up facing what you three are going to face?"

This time Piper was the one that approached, her eyes narrowed. "Wait! You're blaming Grams for why you disappeared. She loved us! She raised us!" Piper exclaimed, her voice a higher pitch from her anger. "You also didn't listen to Buffy's tirade. She can't escape it. She was Chosen to do this by something supernatural. Even if you could strip her of her Charmed powers, you can't strip her of Slayer powers. She could very well die, without her Charmed powers because vampires will still come after her."

"What'd Grams do? Put a spell on you?" Prue asked sarcastically.

Victor looked away shaking his head. "Believe me, nothing short of that would have kept me away. You have to believe me. All I want is what's best for you," he replied sighing heavily and turning around toward the door before spinning on Phoebe. "Phoebe, you believe me don't you?" Phoebe bit her lip uncertainly and looked away.

"We've done fine without you," Prue spoke after Phoebe made it obvious she wasn't sure what to believe.

"Prue! You can't fight this," he tried again, looking only at her. "I couldn't," he admitted.

"I'm not you," Prue countered, her voice cracking slightly as her emotions began to spill over.

"Are you sure? Are you sure you can protect your sisters and your cousin forever?" Victor challenged.

Buffy spoke up in Prue's defense. "We'll protect each other," she insisted shortly.

"Then you'll die together," he shouted.

"I will die without them," Buffy said angrily as she began bouncing a fireball in her hand. "If not for Prue and her powers, I might have already been dead. I was facing a vampire, he had me and was about to drink. Prue saved me by using her power."

"No one can hurt us as bad as you!" Prue yelled. Suddenly, Victor was thrown back into the doorframe as Prue let all her anger and frustration out through the use of her power. Piper and Phoebe stared in surprise as their father fell to the ground and looked at Prue for an explanation.

"You're lucky," Buffy warned as she continued to bounce the fireball in her hand.

Victor rose to his feet and glared at his eldest daughter and niece. "If you two wanted me to leave, all you had to do was ask," he retorted before turning on his heel and leaving the Manor, slamming the door behind him.

Piper and Phoebe gave Prue and Buffy looks of disbelief.

"Why did you have to do that?" Phoebe asked as she followed her father out the door.

"Did you have to throw him so hard?" Piper asked.

"Piper..." Prue said with a sigh.

"We could've just, you know, talked about it like normal people," Piper suggested.

"We're not normal," growled Buffy. "He is not taking the books, yours or mine. Those books are our legacies. I wouldn't give them to him if he was the last person on earth. No matter if he was my uncle or not, which as far as I am concerned he's not."

Victor's Hotel Room

Victor walked into his hotel room and slammed the door behind him. He walked into the main sitting room and collapsed on his couch, not bothering to turn on any of the lights. As soon as he sat down the lights flickered on and he looked up to see Marshall, Cynda, and Fritz standing in the door to the small dining room.

"Hello, Victor," Marshall greeted and walked toward him. "Where have you been?" he asked conversationally.

"How did you get in here?" Victor wondered, not seeming surprised or fazed in the slightest.

"I think you should be little more concerned with what we're doing in here," Marshall replied, advancing until he stood right in front of Victor.

Victor chuckled and pulled out a cigar as Marshall walked off to stand beside Fritz on the other side of the room. "I was wondering when evil would rear its ugly head," he admitted, watching the sibling shape shifters as he placed the cigar in his mouth.

"Consider it reared," Marshall allowed. "I don't know the kind of people you're used to dealing with, but I'd lay serious coin that they aren't willing to rip you into a million pieces and dance on your entrails," he continued casually while Cynda grinned, appearing excited at the thought.

"Ah… So you're lawyers? And here I was just assuming you were shape shifters," Victor joked.

"Those are clever words for a man about to be an appetizer," Fritz remarked while approaching Victor from the side.

"Cocky words for a man that can't get two simple books out of the house," Victor countered and Fritz clenched his fists ready to swing at him. "Close your mouth, I mean it's obvious. You're going to shape shift into me and try to get to the girls that way. Am I right? It won't work," he assured as Fritz cast a glance back at Marshall.

"Why not?" Cynda demanded.

Victor looked from Cynda to Marshall. "Mind if I poke holes?" he asked and Marshall shrugged.

"Poke away," Marshall allowed curiously.

"After tonight, the girls won't let me or anything that looks like me back into their lives let alone the house. I have officially been kicked out," Victor explained as Cynda approached slowly. "There is however, one sister I can reach, Phoebe."

"So why don't I just become you… and I'll reach her," Cynda suggested, leering down at Victor.

"Because only her real father would know what buttons to push. The ones that will get me back in. If you kill me, you'll never know what they are. You'll never get back into the house and you'll never get the Book of Shadows."

March 17, 1997 - Tuesday

Halliwell Manor

The next morning Piper, Buffy and Prue sat down at the dining room table for breakfast. They had their backs to each other and were absentmindedly picking at their food. The sounds of footfalls heading toward them alerted them of the approach of someone but none of them reacted to it.

Phoebe came in staring pointedly between Buffy, Prue and Piper. She stood there for a moment expecting some kind of response. "Good morning, Phoebe," she told herself, expecting one of them to take the hint. She shook her head in irritation and grabbed a napkin off the table and waved it in the air. "Uh, guys. Can we call a truce, just for five minutes please?" she asked and was relieved when Prue, Piper and Buffy looked up. She took a deep breath before speaking again. "I have a confession. You know when we agreed to not see Dad? Yeah, well, um, Buffy and I did," Phoebe admitted, sitting her cup of coffee on the table.

"Hello… I was with you both remember?" Piper replied, looking at Phoebe as if she was crazy.

Buffy shook her head slowly. "No, by ourselves, before dinner," she admitted.

"And I had a premonition about Dad when he hugged me. He was stealing the both Book of Shadows," Phoebe explained. "Yeah, you were right about him, Prue," she admitted, looking at her eldest sister apologetically. "I didn't want the premonition to be true. I was hoping, praying, that there was a perfectly good explanation. Hoping that, that he was really here to be with us. I just wanted him back in our lives… He's our Dad…" she finished in a whisper.

"At the time I just wanted to know more about this side of our family," Buffy admitted. "I guess I found out more than I wanted to."

Prue immediately got up from the table and pulled her little sister into a tight hug. "I know, Phoebe, Buffy," she whispered while Piper wiped her eyes. She then turned to Buffy and hugged her as well.

Buffy and Prue were pulled apart by reality when Piper spoke up in surprise. "Hey, look," she called getting up from the table and walking toward the foyer. "It's Dad's ring…" she explained, picking it up off the ground. "What's it doing here?" She handed it to Prue who looked at it closely.

"It must have slipped off when he, uh… fell… when he fell." Phoebe answered, glancing carefully at Prue who looked up at her for a moment.

"We'll have it sent back to the hotel…" Prue offered after a few moments, sitting the ring down on the end table. Buffy, Piper and Phoebe nodded in agreement.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy ran down the driveway to pick up the recently delivered paper that was lying on the side walk. As she came back up she spotted Marshall and Fritz leaning against their car and she waved politely. They waved back and she turned around only to find Victor just behind her, preventing her from going back up the driveway. She gasped and backed away as Victor approached.

"Don't be afraid," he told her softly, looking over her shoulder at Marshall and Fritz.

"What are you… you have to leave," Buffy replied, trying to get around him.

"Buffy, please. This is very important," Victor insisted, glancing nervously from the shape shifters back to his niece.

"I can't… I don't want to talk to you anymore," Buffy growled.

"Buffy, you gotta get the books out of the house," he breathed, trying to make her understand.

"You have to leave," she countered, pushing by him only for him to grab her arm and spin her back to face him.

"Buffy, trust me. Look," Victor whispered, jerking her arms slightly as Marshall and Fritz advanced from behind him. Buffy was thrown into a premonition. It was the same as Phoebe's except it went farther.

The Charmed Ones Book of Shadows was handed to Victor, who held The Charmed Slayer Book of Shadows. He grinned triumphantly as he shape shifted into Marshall and turned to join Fritz and Cynda.

Buffy gasped and when she became aware of her surroundings she found Marshall and Fritz beside her.

Marshall grabbed hold of Victor's arm, making him let Buffy go. "Excuse me, hey, is this guy bothering you?" Marshall asked Buffy kindly with a point at Victor.

"Uh, no. This is… This is Uncle Victor," Buffy explained.

Victor nodded in understanding at the inflection that she had said uncle. She knew what was going on, she had seen it. He was glad she like Phoebe had the power of premonition.

"We were just saying goodbye," Victor added, looking toward Marshall and Fritz calmly.

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, I gotta run," she answered, waving quickly to her neighbors and dashing back up the steps to the Manor.

The shape shifters watched her leave and then spun to look at Victor who shrugged. "What? Don't you trust me?" he asked rhetorically.

Buffy pushed the front door open and bolted inside, not even bothering to shut the door behind her. "Uncle Victor's not after the books. It's Marshall," she called through the house.

Prue and Phoebe walked out of the kitchen and met Buffy at the bottom of the stairs. "It's what?" Phoebe asked in confusion. "I saw Dad."

"In my premonition, it wasn't Uncle Victor. We need to find a spell and banish them," Buffy explained cryptically, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Banish who?" Prue demanded and Buffy spun around to face the confused Prue and Phoebe.

Buffy glanced at Phoebe and wondered if she and Phoebe had the same power. Could she show Phoebe what she had seen. She took Phoebe's hand and Phoebe was thrown into a premonition.

Phoebe saw exactly what Buffy said. She looked at her eldest sister as she came out of the premonition. "It's the neighbors, they're shape shifters. Fritz and Marshall and the..." she trailed off as Piper walked in with Cynda who was holding a plastic container.

"Cookies? Just baked," Cynda called offering the sisters one from the container.

Fritz strolled in casually. "Hey, door was unlocked," he explained, coming to stand by Cynda and Piper.

Buffy and Phoebe glanced nervously at him and tried to casually walk up the stairs.

"Where are two you going?" Piper queried looking at her cousin and baby sister, taking a few steps toward her them.

"Uh, just to get something," Phoebe replied quickly and then looked at Cynda with deceptively pleading eyes. "Will you save me a cookie?" Cynda nodded and laughed pleasantly. Phoebe thanked her. She and Buffy took off up the stairs again, leaving Prue and Piper huddled together at the bottom of the steps.

As Buffy and Phoebe disappeared up the steps Victor walked into the room where everyone was gathering. "Daddy's home," he called, causing Prue and Piper to freeze and glance at him.

In the attic, Buffy and Phoebe ran up to a makeshift closet and threw the clothes aside revealing both Book of Shadows.

"Come on, come on," Phoebe whispered under her breath as she and Buffy frantically flipped pages and then stopped in irritation. "We have no idea what we're looking for," she admitted. In response, the pages of Buffy's book began to flip on its own. "Apparently the answer isn't in ours. Which means, they're something you can vanquish by yourself."

The pages stopped flipping and Buffy quickly read the spell on the page. "When in this circle that is home, Safety's gone and evils roam, Rid all beings from these walls, Save me and those I call family now heed my call," she whispered trying to memorize it.

Buffy closed her eyes repeating the spell to herself. She and Phoebe turned and dashed back down the stairs. They joined Prue and Piper at the foot of the stairs and caught sight of Victor (1).

"Dad… You can't be here, you have to leave now," Phoebe told him. From around another corner of the house another Victor (2) appeared to join the crowd.

"Whoa! Time out. What's going on here?" Piper exclaimed, pointing between the two Victors.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie. Everything's going to be fine," Victor (1) soothed gently.

"Don't trust him," Victor (2) insisted.

"Wait, last week we had no dad and now we have two?" Piper questioned quizzically, looking for an explanation.

"Phoebe, remember, remember when you were little and you were afraid of the dark and I would leave the hall light on and the door open just a crack?" Victor (1) asked stepping closer to the sisters and Buffy. Prue and Pipe glanced back at Buffy and Phoebe.

"Oh that's original. What kid isn't afraid of the dark?" Victor (2) snapped, coming up to stand beside the other Victor.

"Prue! She's never been afraid of anything," Victor (1) retorted, pointing at Prue. Fritz and Cynda watched the discussion from the side, inconspicuously moving closer to the sisters and Buffy.

" He's right, Prue. You were never afraid of the dark," Piper commented.

"Lucky guess," Victor (2) replied and then glanced at the sisters and Buffy. "I said I came back to protect you. Now there's only one way to do it. Kill us both," he continued dramatically.

Victor (1) cast him a look of disbelief. "You're bluffing…" he stated shortly.

"Am I? Just do it because I want to go out with a bang," Victor (2) countered.

"Do it, Phoebe," Prue ordered glancing to look at Phoebe who shook her head slightly.

"It's not a Power of Three spell," Phoebe said as she looked straight at Buffy.

"The spell will kill everyone including Uncle Victor," Buffy responded.

"It's the only way…. Buffy," Victor (2) reiterated, watching them carefully.

Buffy glanced around the two Victors to see the ring Prue had placed on the end table. "Ring," she whispered under her breath and focused it to appear in Victor's (2) hand. She looked at Prue to make sure that was okay and Prue gave a slight nod. Victor (2) didn't take his eyes off Buffy as he placed the ring on his finger.

"Buffy now!" Prue instructed.

Buffy grabbed Prue's and Phoebe's hands, as Piper took Phoebe's free hand. She closed her eyes and began the chant. "When in this circle that is home, Safety's gone and evils roam, Rid all beings from these walls, Save me and those I call family now heed my call. When in this circle that is home, Safety's gone and evils roam…"

"Uncle Victor!" Buffy trailed off and screamed as Victor fell to his knees as the shape shifters began to convulse and melt.

"It's okay. Keep it going," Victor encouraged as Prue, Piper and Phoebe joined Buffy in the chant.

"Rid all beings from these walls, Save me and those I call family now heed my call."

They finished together and the shape shifters disappeared leaving Victor on the floor. Prue was the first to run toward Victor, followed closely by Piper, Phoebe and Buffy. Prue reached down to help him up.

"For a moment there I wasn't sure what you would do," Victor admitted softly, looking at his daughters and niece.

"For a moment there neither did we," Prue replied, glancing gratefully back at Buffy.

"I thought you didn't want us to use our magic," Buffy spoke her thoughts aloud from where she stood beside Piper and Phoebe.

"I didn't. Not as long as I still thought of you as Prue, Piper and Phoebe as my little girls or you as simply Patience's daughter. But none of you are those things, not anymore," he explained.

"We're still your little girls and Buffy is still your niece, we're just…" Piper began and Prue smiled taking over her train of thought.

"…Witches," Prue and Piper giggled softly and Victor glanced between them.

"Well actually I am both a witch and a Slayer," Buffy reminded her cousins.

"Yeah… witches. Who obviously don't need your old man…" he looked at Buffy and smiled "…or uncle, to protect you from anything," he agreed softly as he pulled his eldest daughter into their first hug since he'd left those years ago.

March 18, 1997 - Wednesday

Prue sat on the edge of a table in the conservatory while Buffy, Piper and Phoebe listened intently to her conversation with Andy on the phone. They each took their turn shooting teasing remarks at Prue that she couldn't return because of being on the phone.

"No, Andy, I'm fine really. Dad's gonna be here any minute so can I take a rain check on dinner? … Okay, thanks for the good advice," Prue was saying while Piper and Phoebe giggled about the latest remark and Prue shot a good-natured glare at them. "Bye," she finished and hung up.

Before she could say anything to her two giggling sisters and cousin, Phoebe spoke up. "So, he's Dad now?" she asked curiously and Prue rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Phoebe. He is," she said before she turned toward Buffy and smiled at her. "Just as he is your uncle." She looked back at Phoebe. "And by the way my dress looks good on you but…" Prue hinted while Phoebe frowned and gave her eldest sister a pleading look.

"I don't have any nice clothes, Prue," Phoebe pleaded and Piper smirked at the all too familiar conversation.

"Dad said it was casual," Prue reminded her.

"I don't care. I want to look nice for him."

"As do I," added Buffy, who was wearing the dress that Prue and Piper had let her keep after they had vanquished Javna.

"Who knows how long it will be before we see him again," Phoebe added in her baby Phoebe voice.

"You don't think he's going to stay around?" Piper asked, glancing at her sisters and her cousin.

"Well, let's just say I no longer have a romanticized image of him. And I'm glad of that actually. At least Dad is real now," Phoebe replied slowly.

"And at least he's not a monster which is very reassuring since we share his genes," Prue added jokingly, causing Phoebe to laugh.

"I'm just glad he came back no matter how long he stays. It's nice feeling like a normal family again… Whatever that means," Piper offered as Buffy and Phoebe nodded enthusiastically at the comment.

Out of the corner of her eye, something caught Buffy's attention. She turned and looked and saw Victor standing outside. She got up quietly excusing herself and went outside via the backdoor. She met Victor at the corner of the front of the house. "Hi, Uncle Victor."

"I was hoping you would see me," he explained as Buffy looked at him in confusion. "I… wanted to talk to you for a minute. I wanted to thank you, Buffy. And I want to apologize."

"For?" Buffy asked confused.

"For wanting to strip your powers," said Victor. "The, it wasn't a Power of Three, was it?"

"No."

"Patience must have known that something might happen to her," he said. "And that you would be united with Prue, Piper and Phoebe. That was why that spell was written the way it was."

"There is no apology needed," said Buffy. "In fact I owe you one. When you threatened to take my powers away. I was angry at you. If it hadn't been Prue who used her power on you, there would have been a chance I would used mine instead. I'm sorry."

"Well you after all take after your sisters," he admitted.

"Sisters?" Buffy asked confused on why he had said sisters.

"Yes they're your cousins," said Victor. "But if I know my daughters, it will not remain that way. In the hearts they will come to see you just as I do. As my daughter, that is if you will let me. I would like to take your father's place. I never liked Hank. If I had stayed in Prue, Piper and Phoebe's lives and got to watch you grow up. I would have asked Patience to allow me to adopt you."

Buffy smiled as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I'd like that, dad," she said as he hugged her. It was then that she noticed the package in his hand.

Victor followed her eyes to it and handed it to her. "Would you give this to your sisters?" he asked and Buffy took it from him in confusion.

"Why can't you give it to us at dinner?" she wondered and Victor looked away for a moment. "You're leaving…" Buffy guessed softly.

"Something's come up. I have to leave town," he explained and Buffy didn't press for more information.

"I'll make sure they get it," she promised. Victor nodded as he hugged Buffy.

When Buffy took a step back, she watched as Victor turned and walked down the driveway. "Bye, dad!" she whispered to herself.

She glanced down at it and went back into the house to find her cousins talking about their pending dinner. They looked up in surprise as as they realized she had gone outside. "Here… I found this on the steps," she lied, knowing Victor would rather keep it anonymous.

Prue took the package from her, opening it curiously. Prue began to read the contents of the package. The doorbell sounded and Piper went to answer it. She came back in followed by a handsome young man with light hair.

Prue glanced up and guessed he was the handyman who was due to show up. "Hi. You must be Mr. Wyatt," she guessed politely.

"The Handyman?" Phoebe asked skeptically, looking up at him curiously.

"Call me, Leo," he said as he looked around at the Manor with interest. "This place is, uh, you don't find many like this anymore," he stated, placing his hand on the door frame carefully.

"That you don't," Buffy agreed.

Piper smiled and looked around at it as well. "Yeah… it's kind of falling apart," she admitted and Leo smiled.

"The problems not the Manor. It's the manner in which it was treated," he explained, looking around at Buffy, Prue, Piper and Phoebe. "I would love to see more," Leo prompted politely and Phoebe jumped at the opportunity.

"And I would love to show it to you. The attic is right this way," she began, pushing Piper out of the way and leading Leo toward the stairs.

Prue, who had read the package by now, frowned and looked up at Piper, Phoebe and Buffy. "Guys… He's not coming," she whispered.

Phoebe spun around to look at Prue before turning back to Leo. "Oh, I'll be right there, Leo," she called and then walked back into the room to stand beside Buffy.

"Who's not coming?" Piper asked running forward to read over Prue's shoulder. Phoebe cocked her head in confusion and Buffy feigned ignorance.

"Dad, but he sent this. Um… 'Girls, Buffy, something's come up and I had to leave town. Can't make dinner, probably best if we let the dust settle anyway. I know there's a lot you would like to forget, but here's what I remember. Love, Dad. P.S. Buffy the second tape is for you. It is one of the few I have with your mom,'" Prue read slowly and then held up two video tapes.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Prue, Piper and Phoebe watching the video. It was taken the Christmas before Victor had left. Phoebe was one, making Piper three, and Prue five. They were all opening presents. Victor leaned over and gave Prue a kiss on the cheek while little Piper ran to the camera showing off some of her unwrapped gifts. Piper ran to him to help get them open and Victor picked her up and lifted her playfully into the air, causing little Piper to laugh. The camera switched to baby Phoebe who kept pointing at the new Barbie she'd received before fading out, leaving the adult Prue, Piper, and Phoebe smiling at the memories resurfaced with watery eyes.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy sat on her bed watching the other video. Like Prue, Piper and Phoebe's It was taken at Christmas. Prue was three and Piper was one. Sitting next to Piper was Joyce. Victor handed a present to his sister-in-law. "I hope you like it, Patience," he said. Joyce opened the package to find a small jewelry box and inside was a locket.

Buffy reached up and touched the exact same locket around her neck and smiled.

---

Author's Note (2013): In the script Victor said 'from what your mom always said.' It was later established that neither Patty nor Grams had the power of Premonition. That's why I changed it to Patience (aka Joyce) and gave her the premonition power.