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.

11. Chapter 11: Wicca Envy

Chapter 11: Wicca Envy

April 21, 1997 – Monday

Halliwell Manor

"I don't know, Phoebe. The Betsey Johnson dress may be a bit too much for work," Prue admitted, stepping through the door that Buffy had opened for her and Phoebe. Prue dropped her dozens of bags and packages on the floor just inside the foyer followed by Phoebe.

Buffy closed the door behind them and, giggling at their debate that they had been having since leaving the store. "I, for one, think Phoebe's right, but when you do wear it to work, I want to come. Everyone's eyes will follow you and I want to witness."

Prue rolled her eyes and Phoebe, grinning at Buffy, nodded in agreement. "Besides, that's what a new wardrobe's all about. Pushing the limit," Phoebe insisted.

"Yeah and stretching the budget," Prue muttered, her eyes flickering over all the bags that now covered the floor of the Foyer. "Maybe I should just check with Piper," she decided, much to Phoebe and Buffy's disappointment.

Before either of the younger Halliwells could argue anymore, laughing drifted in from the Solarium. They all glanced up in curiosity to find Piper, skimpily clad, heading for the stairs with Leo. Leo originally had his back to Prue, Phoebe, and Buffy but spun around toward the stairs, pulling Piper along behind him.

Piper's eyes widened slightly as she caught sight of their teasing stares. "Oh my god, Prue!" she exclaimed throwing her hands up and freezing Leo at the stairs. She walked forward, tripping over the suddenly frozen Leo and went sliding across the Foyer to stop just in front of Prue, Phoebe, and Buffy.

Prue giggled, Phoebe's hand flew to her mouth in an attempt to hide her laughter and Buffy, her eyes shining with her own silent laughter, reached down and pulled a blushing Piper to her feet.

"I'm so embarrassed," Piper whispered.

"Of course, she might have other things on her mind like having her way with the handyman," Buffy joked, glancing toward Prue pointedly and waving her arm toward where Leo stood frozen next to the stairs.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be shopping," Piper changed the subject. She ran a hand through her hair trying to cool off her embarrassment.

"Obviously," Prue teased while Phoebe's eyes flickered to Piper's unbuttoned shirt.

"Oh, look, front clasp bra. She means business," Phoebe announced.

"Serious business," Prue agreed with a slight nod.

"Been unclasped yet?" Buffy couldn't help but ask.

Piper returned her question with a glare. "What would make you ask that?" she demanded indignantly with narrowed eyes as she wrapped the shirt tightly around her.

"Well… I think that shirt is a bit too big to be yours," Buffy replied with a sly wink towards Phoebe, who burst into another fit of giggles.

"Do you mind?" Piper countered with a roll of her eyes, deciding it best not to answer the actual question.

"No, are you kidding? I think it's great," Phoebe exclaimed. "As long as he's not still on the clock,"she added as an afterthought.

"That's what I mean. You guys have to get out of here before he unfreezes. I never know how long this thing lasts," Piper explained, motioning toward the frozen Leo. Her eyes flickered to look at the boxes that littered the floor of the Foyer. "How much did you guys spend?" she wondered in disbelief.

Phoebe followed Piper's eyes to the bags. "Lots. Buffy and Prue's new look are perfect for two SHW."

Prue glanced over at Phoebe in confusion. "SHW?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Single Hot Witch," Phoebe answered promptly without looking away from Piper.

"Hmm," Buffy whispered thoughtfully.

Piper rolled her eyes and turned her attention toward Prue. "Prue, are you sure this isn't depression buying, you know, post-breakup?" she asked pointedly.

Phoebe reached down into a nearby bag and pulled out a bright red, sexy, piece of lingerie, earning wide eyes from Piper. "Does this look like something a depressed woman would wear?" Phoebe countered, laughing at Piper's reaction.

Prue took the piece of lingerie from Phoebe and pushed it toward Piper. "Hmm… maybe you should borrow it," she teased.

Piper pushed it away and finally had enough of her giggling family. "Okay, time's up. You gotta go," she ordered pushing them toward the conservatory.

"Wait! The bags. I will telekinetic flame them to me," Buffy said. "Can you wait say a few more seconds?"

"If you hurry," answered Piper as Buffy rushed followed by Prue and Phoebe into the conservatory.

"Bags!" Buffy called out a few times and the bags flamed into her hands two at a time. "Okay, done!" she said after the last two bags flamed into her hands.

"Stay in there and be quiet," Piper ordered with a last glare toward her family. She quickly walked back towards Leo.

"I will if you will," Phoebe's voice drifted out of the Conservatory. "I have a test to study for and would be nice not to hear you distracting me…"

Piper grabbed hold of Leo's hand like she had been when she had frozen him and he unfroze several moments later. He continued pulling Piper after him as if nothing had happened. Prue, Phoebe, and Buffy ran out to stand in the doorway to the Conservatory, laughing and giggling as Piper disappeared up the stairs. Piper gave them another pointed glare, which went unnoticed by Leo, and Prue grabbed both Buffy and Phoebe's arms and pulled them back into the Conservatory.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Prue walked into her room, and set her bags down on the floor. Kit came running in and knocked over a bag scattering its contents. She ran a hand through her hair before unzipping her sweater. Behind her Rex astral projected, invisible to her eyes, but Kit hissed menacingly toward him in an attempt to warn Prue. Prue tilted her head questioningly at Kit and took several steps toward her.

"Kit, what is it?" she called soothingly, though she glanced behind her a little nervously.

Rex moved around behind Prue, ignoring Kit. "You forgot to unpack your briefcase when you got home from work. You want to do it right now," he spoke.

Prue's eyes flickered to her briefcase as the thought registered in her mind. She re-zipped her sweater and sat down at her desk, reaching for her briefcase. She opened the briefcase revealing folders, other papers, and a tiara.

"What you are about to pick up is a tiara, but you really believe it's your datebook," Rex continued calmly.

Prue reached into her briefcase and picked up the tiara which, to her, looked like her black datebook.

"Now put it in your desk, just like you always do," Rex ordered.

Prue obeyed, opening the drawer to her desk and placing her 'datebook' inside.

Rex smiled triumphantly. "Excellent. Now you want to continue getting ready for bed," he finished.

Prue ran her hand through her hair again with a quick yawn. She reached down and took her shoes off before unzipping her sweater again. Rex looked over appreciatively, but Prue stopped as Kit jumped up onto the desk. Kit hissed at Rex while Prue stroked the cat, glancing around behind her curiously. Rex rolled his eyes, slightly disappointed and astral projected out.

Buckland's Auction House

Rex returned to his body and opened his eyes to see Hannah waiting for him to fill her in. "Well?" Hannah prompted with raised eyebrows.

Rex chuckled softly and nodded in triumph. "Prue did exactly as I told her to. You know, I rather like this new power," he commented, leaning back casually into his chair.

"Are you sure she didn't see you?" Hannah pressed, a little disbelieving.

"No, no. She didn't see me. I was invisible," Rex assured her.

Hannah narrowed her eyes in confusion. "But then, how did you get there?"

Rex rolled his eyes and looked away. "I've explained this to you, Hannah. It's called Astral Projection. With it I can transport myself psychically and implant a subliminal thought into Prue's brain. Just like I did when I tricked her into leaving the vault today with the tiara. See, I planted the thought and made her think she came out empty handed," he explained as simply as he could.

Hannah continued to look confused. "I still don't understand how it works," she admitted with a shrug.

"Watch," Rex ordered, getting up from his seat on the couch and crossing his office to stand against his desk. He concentrated and astral projected next to Hannah on the couch. "You want to disrobe for him… desperately," he stated before allowing himself to return to his body.

Hannah slowly stood up from her place on the couch and began unbuttoning her jacket.

"Understand now, Hannah?" Rex asked rhetorically, watching as Hannah let her jacket slip to the floor.

April 22, 1997 – Tuesday

Halliwell Manor

Locked in her room, Prue went through her bags of clothes that she had bought the day before trying to pick out an outfit for work. After finally picking an outfit, shoes and purse included, she looked up at a knock on her door. Prue narrowed her eyes and the door swung open to reveal Buffy, who cheerily skipped in wearing her ever present t-shirt and jeans. Prue understood why, fighting vampires after school was likely easier in something that didn't restrict your movements. Most of what she had bought the teen had been clothes for special occasions.

Buffy's eyes flickered over all the outfits that littered the floor and furniture and smirked at her cousin. "Have trouble picking an outfit?" she guessed with a teasing glance toward Prue.

Prue looked away from the mirror to face Buffy. "Uh, is it that obvious?" she joked, waving her hand around the room. "Did you need something?" she wondered curiously.

"Just a ride to school," Buffy gently reminded her eldest cousin.

"Oh, I forgot, Buffy, I'm sorry," Prue said with a sigh. "Got a little distracted as I am sure you can tell. I'll be ready in a little bit." She then turned toward some of the outfits trying to choose the best one for her.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

A few minutes later Prue made her way down the stairs to find Buffy and Phoebe waiting for her at the bottom.

Phoebe stopped pointedly in front of Prue, leaning against the rails of the stairs. "If you were an employment agency, wouldn't you want me?" she asked dramatically.

Prue smiled, her eyes traveling over Phoebe's dress suit. "Maybe, but I'd definitely want my suit back," she answered cheekily, jumping off the last stair and facing Phoebe with a mock glare.

Buffy smiled at her youngest cousin. "Maybe, Pheebs. Then again Maybe, not," she joked.

"No, this is part of your old wardrobe. I'm just recycling," Phoebe defended lightly.

"Well, the environment thanks you but…" Prue began, crossing her arms.

"…Take it off, I know, I know," Phoebe sighed seeming a little disgruntled.

"Yeah, I learned that really quickly," Buffy said. "Prue really doesn't like sharing her clothes."

Piper came running down the stairs and raced around them on her way to to the door. "Hi, bye," she offered shortly.

"Piper!" Prue ordered, her eyes following her younger sister's attempt at escaping. She was pleased to see that Piper stopped and reluctantly turned to face them. "Didn't you have to go in early this morning?"

Piper smiled awkwardly and played with her hands. "Right, that was the plan. I'm running a little late. Um, just took a little longer to get out of bed this morning than I planned," she explained quickly. She blushed slightly when Prue, Phoebe and Buffy exchanged knowing glances. "Okay, bye," she finished, spinning around and heading for the front door.

"Wait!" Prue, Phoebe and Buffy yelled after her. They overtook a stunned Piper, blocking her from the door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You, Leo, last night, dish," Phoebe ordered, leaning forward eagerly.

"Um, well, it was nice. It was… well, it was wonderful. We just had a few problems," Piper admitted with a nervous laugh.

"Problems?" Buffy asked receiving a glare from Piper.

"What problems?" Prue demanded.

"Well, it's been awhile since, you know, I-I was a little nervous and I kinda kept… freezing him," Piper reluctantly explained, shutting her eyes tightly as if it would make her disappear as Phoebe and Buffy began to giggle as well.

"I can't believe you did that!" Prue exclaimed.

"Ohh!" Phoebe laughed, falling into Buffy.

Prue looked at Piper slyly. "So, um, at what point exactly in the process did you freeze him?" she asked.

Piper blushed deeply but didn't answer which was answer enough for all three of them.

"Piper!" Buffy breathed through her fits of laughter at the same time Phoebe shouted, "Hello!"

Having enough of their teasing, Piper walked around them to grab her jacket. "I've gotta go," she decided with a half-laugh.

"No, no, Piper, we're only teasing you," Prue whined, giving her sister a pleading look.

"Yeah, the truth is we're just jealous," Phoebe added.

"Yeah, seriously," Buffy agreed.

Prue nodded enthusiastically. "We're just happy to see you with a great guy finally."

"I mean, between you and Leo, Prue and Buffy the new Hot Wicca Women, and me, soon to be employed, things are looking up," Phoebe continued, wrapping her arm around Buffy's shoulders.

Piper immediately frowned and shook her head. "Don't say that. The moment someone says that everything always goes south."

"Unless you freeze him!" Phoebe quipped, unable to hold it in. She laughed at the looks Prue, Piper and Buffy cast her way. "I couldn't help it."

Prue decided to step in before Piper exploded due to the teasing. "Okay, okay, come on. If you're gonna borrow the car, Phoebe. Let's go as we have to drop Buffy off first," she ordered, grabbing onto both Phoebe and Buffy's hands.

As Prue, Phoebe, and Buffy reached for their jackets, Leo came down the stairs. "Good morning," he greeted cheerfully as all eyes turned to him.

"Yeah, we heard," Phoebe replied, flashing Leo an innocent smile. Piper laughed nervously and Buffy grinned at her cousin's expense.

Prue grabbed Phoebe and Buffy again, pulling the door open behind her. "Ah, bye," she called pleasantly and Phoebe and Buffy giggling loudly were pulled out the door.

"Have a magical day," Phoebe called over her shoulder followed by a simple, "Bye," from Buffy.

Leo approached Piper as Prue, Phoebe, and Buffy finally disappeared out the door. "Um, What does she mean by that?" he asked curiously.

Piper shrugged, blushing slightly at her lie. "Who knows, I'm late for work… bye," she announced, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before turning for the door.

Leo wrapped his arms around her as she tried to leave and pulled her back toward him, giving her a longer and more passionate kiss.

Piper stayed in his arms for a moment, enjoying the feeling. "Bye," she finally breathed, tearing herself away from him.

"Bye," Leo repeated in a whisper, watching as Piper finally left for work.

Bucklands Auction House

Prue and Phoebe stepped out of the elevator to find the twelfth floor filled with officers moving back and forth questioning workers. They exchanged a confused glance as they traversed through the crowd, Prue looking for someone to ask about the situation. Her eyes landed on a friendly security guard by the name of Jaime.

"Jaime, hey. What's going on? What happened?" Prue asked looking around with eyes narrowed in concern.

Jaime looked up from his papers to meet Prue's eyes. "We got robbed last night, Prue," he explained quickly. He sighed audibly and looked away.

Prue's mouth dropped in surprise. "You're kidding. What was stolen?" Prue demanded.

"The Romanov tiara," the security guard answered, his voice clearly projecting his worry.

"Oh my god. Not the tiara," Prue breathed, looking toward Phoebe. She looked up at the sound of Rex trying to gain her attention.

"Prue!" Rex called over the busy floor.

Prue frowned and turned sympathetic eyes onto her boss. "Rex, hi. Jaime just told me," she replied.

Rex gave the slightest of nods. "Yeah," he sighed, his eyes flickering to Phoebe who was still linked with Prue. "Hello, Phoebe. Nice to see you again," Rex greeted politely.

"Hi, Rex. I'm sorry about what happened," Phoebe offered also giving him a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, me too. A loss of this magnitude could severely damage our reputation and who is going to consign anything with us if…" Rex began.

"No, no, no. We just have to get the tiara back before word gets out," Prue interrupted, trying to shed a little optimism into the situation.

Rex smiled slightly at Prue's words. "I agree. Will you take point on this then, you know, help the police?" he asked hopefully, nodding toward the officers. "You're really the only one that I can trust," he added.

Prue looked shocked at the sudden confession. "Sure… but what about you?" Prue wondered.

"Unfortunately, I've got another commitment tonight that I really can't get out of. It's, uh, some good friends who are giving a concert and, uh, well I promised I wouldn't miss it," Rex explained.

"Oh, yeah? Who?" Phoebe asked curiously, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Rex's eyes flickered from Prue back to Phoebe. "The Verve."

Phoebe's eyes widened. "Get out! Are you serious?" she demanded, earning a soft giggle and a teasing look from Prue.

"Why, you know them?" Rex laughed.

"Know them? I worship them. Bittersweet symphony is like the best song ever!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Really?" Rex stated thoughtfully receiving an enthusiastic nod from Phoebe. "I have an idea. Why not join me tonight? I'm sure I can rustle up another ticket," he suggested cheerfully.

Prue immediately frowned and her eyes narrowed suspiciously as her big sister instincts kicked in. Not to mention this was her boss wanting to take her sister out.

Rex didn't miss the face, but knew that when asked directly Prue wouldn't intervene. "Well, you wouldn't mind, would you, Prue?

Phoebe glanced a little nervously toward her eldest sister while Prue forced a laugh. "Of course not. Why would I mind?" Prue asked a hint of sarcasm in her tone that Rex and Phoebe conveniently missed.

"Then it's a date. Well, figuratively speaking, of course," Rex decided, flashing a smile toward Phoebe.

"Of course," Prue muttered, feigning approval.

"Yeah, um, pick you up at 7:00, alright?" Rex offered to Phoebe

Phoebe grinned and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great, thanks." She glanced over to look at Prue, suddenly remembering her time limit with the car. "Uh, oh, look at the time. I gotta get going. Hey, I promise I'll have the car back by noon."

"Uh, huh," Prue acknowledged before turning, a little awkwardly back to her boss.

Rex reached out and gently shook Prue's shoulder in a sign of gratitude. "Thanks for pitching in, Prue," he appreciated, turning away and heading toward his office door.

Prue was left to stare after him and allowed her forced smile to disappear. Behind her Andy came from a nearby hallway and caught sight of her. He changed directions so that he intercepted her. "Prue," he greeted politely if not pleasantly.

Prue turned to look at him, inwardly cringing at him being here after their last meeting hadn't ended so well. "Andy, uh, are you on this case too?" she wondered, smiling nervously.

"Yep, guess fate keeps throwing us together," Andy commented with a shrug. He took the resulting moment of silence to consider her. He could tell she was a little uncertain about him, probably about how he was going to react considering how they had left each other last.

Hannah caught sight of the two and approached them, recognizing a good opportunity to instill doubt into Prue's former lover and, as it turned out, the investigating cop. "You two know each other?" she asked as much as stated. "Forgot."

Prue looked away from Andy and narrowed her eyes slightly. "No you didn't," Prue countered, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Hannah returned with a glare, both women stiffening at the other's presence, which Andy's sharp eyes didn't miss. "Well, I suggested that the Inspector speak with you since you were the last one to actually see the tiara," she replied, the insinuation clear.

Prue, silently fuming, rolled her eyes and chanced a glance toward Andy. Andy met her gaze, his expression unreadable though he found the tense atmosphere between Hannah and Prue interesting and insightful. He broke eye contact with Prue to glance at Hannah when she began to speak directly to him.

"If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call," Hannah finished just before Darryl intruded upon the conversation.

"We'd like to see the security tapes from last night as soon as possible," Darryl ordered, speaking directly to Hannah. He started to walk away, pausing when Hannah spoke.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure Prue can arrange that," Hannah decided receiving a nod from Prue. "Excuse me," she added, turning to head into Rex's office.

Prue glanced back at Andy to find him avoiding her eyes. "How are you?" she asked, trying to end the awkward silence.

He smiled and met her gaze. "Okay," Andy answered with a shrug. There was another short moment of silence before he decided it best just to get down to business. "It'd be better if you just stopped by the station later on so we could talk about all this. 1:00?" he suggested.

Prue gave the slightest of nods. "Sure," she agreed, sighing softly as she watched him leave without another word.

San Francisco Police Department

Prue leaned back into the chair next to Andy's desk as he questioned her on the break-in while he wrote her answers down on a sheet of paper.

"You said you put the tiara back in the vault before you left. Was anybody else there?" Andy asked.

"Security guard, Jaime," Prue answered promptly.

Andy nodded slightly, writing something down before continuing. "Did he lock up the vault?"

"No, I did," Prue admitted.

"Okay, did you happen to take anything out of the vault when you left?" Andy questioned, trying to word the question carefully.

"No," Prue replied indignantly. Her eyes narrowed as she realized where the questioning was going. She looked away from Andy and noticed Darryl standing behind her. "Is this an interview or an interrogation?" Prue demanded.

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to get all the facts, that's all," Andy apologized, watching as Prue calmed slightly though she was far from relaxed.

Darryl noticed the exchange and decided to step in. "The problem is there were no signs of forced entry into the Auction House or the vault," he explained.

"So do you think one of the employees might have stolen it?" Prue suggested, turning in her seat to face him.

"Strong possibility," Darryl replied and Prue frowned even more.

"Someone like me," she decided bitterly, her eyes narrowed at the implied accusation.

Andy shook his head immediately and cast a glare towards Darryl. "No, don't be ridiculous," he assured her. Prue glanced over at him gratefully, but didn't miss the conflicting opinions between Darryl and Andy.

"Still, we have to check out everyone's story. Grand larceny's big time. Could cost a person fifteen, twenty years easily," Darryl continued, giving Andy a warning glance.

Andy rolled his eyes at Darryl's subtle tactic and irritably shut the file on his desk before standing up and cutting in. "I think we got enough for now, Prue. If we have any other questions, we'll give you a call," Andy decided, shaking her hand professionally.

Prue stood up and gave a slight nod. "Well, you know where to reach me."

"I think I still remember," Andy agreed, offering her a smile before she turned and left. His eyes followed her until the doors blocked his view and he turned on Darryl. "What was all that about?" he demanded, pointing toward where Prue had disappeared.

"You tell me," Darryl countered, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Last time you were ready to bust her for stealing a feather and now you think she's Ms. Innocent?"

"That was a whole different situation. Completely unrelated," Andy argued

Darryl sighed and looked away for a moment. "Look, I'm not saying she did it, alright? But you have to admit a lot of the arrows are pointing in her direction," he pointed out. Andy was about to argue when he continued. "There's also this. Security tapes that Prue brought over. One's missing. The one from the vault," Darryl finished, holding up the security tapes for his partner.

Andy looked over the tapes before looking back toward the doors that Prue had left through. He sighed and turned away, trying to piece together what was now going on with her.

Quake

Buffy and Prue leaned against the bar as Piper counted the money in the cash register. Their eyes watched her thoughtfully for several moments.

"You're glowing," Buffy finally said, causing Piper to pause in her counting and give her cousin.

"Your face, total afterglow," Prue elaborated for Buffy.

Piper rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It is not. It's just warm in here," she countered with a half-smile.

Prue glanced at Buffy. "Do you believe her?" she asked knowing Buffy's answer before the teen even said anything.

"Mmm hmm," Buffy said.

There was a moment of silence before Prue allowed a change of subject. "Well, I'm the main suspect for Grand larceny," Prue offered with false cheer though she inwardly flinched at the thought.

Piper flinched at the situation Prue was referring to while Buffy looked suddenly worried. "Why are you a suspect for that?" Buffy wondered.

"Oh, because this tiara I locked up in the vault last night turned up stolen this morning. If that wasn't enough, Andy's investigating the case. Hannah basically pointed the finger at me in front of him and after stealing the feather at the museum…" Prue trailed off, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

"Andy's not gonna believe Hannah over you and he's too professional to hold a previous experience against you. Stealing a feather is completely different than stealing a tiara," Buffy pointed out.

Piper nodded in agreement. "How much was the tiara worth anyway?"

"Well, I didn't have a chance to have it appraised as we just got it in yesterday. But I would say well over a million dollars," Prue answered with a grimace.

"Wow…" Piper responded while Buffy whistled, her eyebrows furrowed.

Buffy opened her mouth to break the uncertain silence between the three of them when Phoebe and Rex approached them.

"So, what's on the dessert menu?" Phoebe asked, not noticing the tense atmosphere between them as she leaned against the bar next to Buffy.

"Hey, how was the concert?" Piper greeted forcing a smile as Rex walked up behind Phoebe.

Buffy's head shot up in surprise. "Concert? What concert?" she demanded, but received a light kick under the bar from Prue. She cast a glare toward Prue but obediently fell silent.

Phoebe ignored Buffy's outburst. "The best. It was amazing," she sighed.

Prue's eyes flickered over Phoebe's dress. "Still recycling I see," she teased, narrowing her eyes playfully which Phoebe happily returned.

"Thank you for taking care of things tonight, Prue. I really appreciate it," Rex spoke up, gaining everyone's' attention.

Phoebe smiled dreamily without turning to look at Rex. "Mmm… don't you just love that accent?" she questioned rhetorically.

Buffy looked at Rex and Phoebe and for the first time since she had met Prue's boss her Slayer senses began screaming at her.

"By the way, how'd it go with the police?" Rex wondered curiously.

"Uh, well, they think it's an inside job actually," Prue admitted, leaving out the part about her being a suspect. Rex didn't need to know that specifically.

Rex frowned and looked away thoughtfully. "Do they? How disturbing," he stated, shaking his head as if it hurt him to hear it.

"Okay, shop talk later. We're gonna grab a table, okay?" Phoebe stepped in before the conversation ruined the night. She looked to Piper hopefully.

Piper smiled slightly and nodded, looking around the restaurant. "Take that one by the window. I'll send, uh, Cindy over," Piper promised, pointing to her right.

Rex turned to follow Phoebe, but hesitated, turning back to Prue. "You're welcome to join us, Prue," he offered politely. "Buffy."

Prue forced a smile but shook her head. "No thanks. I think I'll pass."

Buffy too forced a smile as she shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I will pass also." Her eyes followed Phoebe and Rex through the crowd until they had disappeared.

"She's a big girl, you two," Piper pointed out.

"Meaning?" Prue demanded, suddenly defensive.

"He's rich, he's stable, he's handsome. We should be happy for her," Piper explained, staring sternly at Prue and Buffy.

Prue rolled her eyes. "I'm thrilled," she lied.

"Please tell me, you're not jealous, Prue," Buffy pleaded, causing Piper to laugh at the thought.

Prue glared at Piper before replying. "No, definitely not. More like… territorial."

Buffy looked relieved and her eyes flickered toward Phoebe. Till she knew more she wasn't sure she should mention what she had felt. Hopefully she would be able to get another read on Rex and then go on from there.

April 22, 1997 – Tuesday

Halliwell Manor

The next morning, Prue sat in one of the large armchairs in the conservatory reading the paper while Piper was sprawled out along the couch, talking on the phone with Leo. They could hear the sounds of Buffy pouring cereal into a bowl from the kitchen followed by two sets of approaching footsteps. One from the kitchen, the other from the stairs.

"Good morning," Phoebe greeted. Her eyes caught sight of the large box of roses on the table in front of the stairs. "Wow, roses. Who are they for?" she asked hopefully.

Prue glanced up with a forced smile. "Guess."

Piper bit her lip slightly, recognizing the none-too-happy look from the eldest Halliwell sister. "Leo, I need to call you back. Something's about to come up. I'll see you later, okay? Bye," she finished hastily before dropping the phone back on the cradle.

Phoebe picked up the card and read it with a dreamy sigh. "'Phoebe, thank you for a lovely evening, the job is on its way. Rex,'" she read cheerfully, dropping the card back on the table to look back at the flowers. "Ah, what a sweetheart." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked over her gift. "Wait, who opened the box?" she demanded, staring pointedly at Prue.

Piper jumped up from her seat on the couch and moved toward Phoebe. "I can't get over how beautiful these are, can you Prue?" she commented in an attempt to deter an argument.

"So, it must have been quite a night, you know, after the concert," Prue observed, ignoring Piper's question. Piper was nervously holding the roses, biting her lip at the impending argument.

Phoebe raised her eyebrows and nodded slightly. "Hmm…" she murmured thoughtfully.

"I'll put these in some water," Piper announced as cheerfully as she could. "Come on, Buffy," she ordered, giving her baby sister a glare as Buffy appeared with her bowl of cereal in the doorway.

Buffy glanced between Phoebe and Prue and the flowers in Piper's hand, mentally putting the pieces together. For a moment she frowned as if she wanted to argue, but decided it best to follow Piper, leaving Prue and Phoebe alone in the Conservatory.

"All I did was tell Rex that I was going to the employment agency. He said he'd make a few calls and help me out. So, what's the big problem?" Phoebe demanded, crossing her arms defiantly.

Prue sighed and forced herself to calm down about the situation. "Phoebe, really, it's none of my business," she admitted, sitting up as the doorbell rang through their house. "It's just, watch what you say to him, okay? Because there are certain things I don't want my boss to know about me," she requested, leaving Phoebe in the Conservatory to answer the front door. She pulled the door open to find Andy and Darryl waiting outside. "Andy, uh, what are you doing here?" she asked nervously. From their looks it definitely wasn't a social call.

Andy glanced toward Darryl for a moment, having dreaded this confrontation. "We're here to search your house for the tiara, Prue," he explained, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "We've got a search warrant."

Prue moved to the side as Andy and Darryl pushed past her into the house, leaving her to close the door behind them. She turned to watch them walk through her house in stunned silence until she heard her sisters and Buffy asking them about their presence. She then noticed Buffy running toward the stairs. "Weapons chest," Buffy mouthed and Prue nodded in understanding.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Andy and Darryl had made their way through the house to Prue's room after checking the first floor and every other room on the second floor. Prue, Piper and Phoebe weren't sure what Buffy had done with her weapons chest but luckily Andy and Darryl hadn't found it. The sisters and Buffy were crowded around behind trying to piece together what was going on. Phoebe looked furious, Buffy looked defiant, Piper was stunned, and Prue was unusually silent as she watched them sort through every room.

"Wait, how could you guys even think that Prue stole the tiara?" Phoebe demanded, hitting off the accusatory conversation for what felt like the umpteenth time.

Andy closed the dresser drawer that he was searching through before answering. "We don't, Phoebe, not necessarily," he assured her, continuing to the next drawer while Darryl moved to the other end of the room to search.

Buffy rolled her eyes and turned back to Andy. "Well, then what are you doing here? Spring cleaning?" she snapped sarcastically.

"Buffy, calm down," Phoebe whispered, linking arms with her cousin. Buffy reluctantly went silent.

"Any idea where the vault security cam tape is?" Darryl asked Prue from where he was searching near her bed.

Prue looked confused for a moment. "I gave you the tapes," she reminded them.

Darryl smiled and shook his head. "Uh uh, not that one."

Prue looked even more confused while Piper and Buffy exchanged a glance and Phoebe narrowed her eyes angrily.

"It wasn't there, Prue," Andy backed up his partner as he opened her desk drawer where the tiara was sitting. He was looking at Prue closely, trying to judge her reaction.

"Surely it was," Buffy argued but was otherwise ignored.

Piper's eyes widened at the sight of the tiara. "Whoo!" she hissed, running forward and freezing Andy and Darryl before either of them caught sight of the tiara.

Buffy, Prue and Phoebe couldn't see around Andy to where the tiara was. "Why did you do that?" Prue demanded, too caught up in her emotions to follow Piper's actions.

Piper ran forward and pulled the tiara out of the drawer and ran back to Prue. "That's why," she hissed, holding the tiara up so Prue could see it.

Prue's eyes widened and Buffy and Phoebe's mouths dropped in surprise. "Uh, no, no, no, wait. That's not possible. How did it get there?" Prue babbled beginning to head towards hysteria.

"I don't know but you better come up with an answer quick before they unfreeze," Piper replied, motioning back toward the frozen Andy and Darryl.

"Someone must have planted it there," Phoebe decided immediately.

"Who? Someone has been in our house?" Piper countered sounding worried at the thought.

Rex astral projected into the room next to where Andy was frozen, watching the conversation with interest.

Buffy ran a hand through her hair nervously. "Oh, this is bad. Very bad…" she muttered with wide eyes.

Prue shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Just let them find it. I've nothing to hide. I'm innocent," Prue insisted in desperation.

"That doesn't look very innocent, Prue," Phoebe argued.

"Piper, hide it," Buffy ordered. "We can worry about how it got here later." She looked around and then spotted the pillows. "The pillows!" she suggested, pointing toward them.

Piper nodded and ran around the frozen men to push the tiara under the mass of pillows on Prue's bed. With a satisfied half smile she ran back to her sisters, just in time for the freeze to wear off.

Darryl and Andy continued their search through the drawer and the shelf when Rex leaned toward Andy. "I think you should check under the pillows," Rex advised.

"Morris, check under the pillows," Andy called, pointing toward Prue's bed.

The sisters' and Buffy's eyes widened as Darryl walked past them toward the bed. Piper ran forward and froze him before he reached them.

"Tiara!" Buffy called and the tiara flamed into her hand. She looked at her cousins for help.

"How did he know to look there?" Piper ranted, giving a glare at Darryl and crossing her arms.

"I don't know but I've got to put this someplace," Buffy said waving the tiara.

Phoebe shrugged and looked around the room. "Uh, put it in the dresser. He's already looked there."

Buffy quickly tossed the tiara in the middle drawer of the dresser and ran back to stand next to Prue, Phoebe, and Piper. Andy and Darryl again unfroze and continued their search.

Rex, who had remained unfrozen, leaned toward Andy again. "You want to look in the dresser again."

Andy looked toward the dresser and began to head toward it. As soon as he passed Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Buffy; Piper threw her hands up and froze the room again.

Rex rolled his eyes and followed, standing next to Piper. "This is getting ridiculous," he ranted.

"This is getting ridiculous," Piper quoted, throwing her hands up dramatically.

"No, eerie is more like it," Prue observed.

Buffy stalked past Andy and took the tiara back out of the dresser. With a glare at Andy and Darryl she headed out the door. "I will be right back," she promised.

"Don't worry, I'll just keep freezing them until they give up," Piper assured Prue.

"Yeah, and once they leave we can figure this out," Phoebe added, receiving a nod from Prue.

Rex, losing his patience, leaned toward Piper. "You're a miserable witch."

Prue tilted her head curiously at the look that crossed Piper's face. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Piper shrugged looking confused. "I don't know. I feel like calling a shrink for some reason," she admitted.

Buffy came running back in and stopped next to her cousons. "Okay, I put it in the, uh…" she trailed off as the room unfroze and Andy and Darryl continued searching for the third time. "…attic," she whispered in Prue's ear.

Rex shook his head and astral projected out.

"Nothing. I think that's good enough for now, Morris," Andy decided, leaning against the dresser. "I'm sorry about all this, Prue. I really am," he apologized as Darryl walked around the sisters and Buffy to get back to the door.

Prue nodded slightly but turned away and leaned into Piper. "Yeah, I know," she whispered.

"Come on, Trudeau. Let's go," Darryl ordered, walking out the door with Andy just behind him.

Bucklands Auction House

Rex's astral form returned to his body to find Hannah sitting on the other side of his desk. "Witches…" he muttered sounding furious. In his anger he knocked several things off his desk which took Hannah by surprise.

"Well, did the police find the tiara?" Hannah asked, fingering her glasses.

Rex pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up. "No. Piper kept freezing them and they kept moving it," he explained, pacing irritably around his office.

Hannah raised her eyebrows at the information. "Well, how can we frame her if they can't even find the evidence?" she demanded.

"Shh," Rex turned on her, taking a few moments to think his plan through. "We're gonna have to up the stakes," he decided, his face slowly splitting into a confident grin.

Halliwell Manor

"Somebody is obviously trying to set me up and they're using magic to do it," Prue concluded as she paced back and forth around the Conservatory.

Phoebe was repositioning her roses so they stood out more, Piper was dusting, and Buffy sat in the armchair, where Prue had been sitting earlier in the morning, watching Prue pace.

"But who? And how?" Buffy wondered, her eyebrows furrowing in thought.

Phoebe turned away from her flowers to look at Buffy and her sisters. "Pick a warlock, any warlock," she stated with a roll of her eyes.

Theys heard the door open moments before Leo came into the room. "Hey, what were the police doing here?" he wondered, looking at Piper for an explanation.

"Oh, nothing much, really," Piper lied, offering him a half-smile.

"Is it alright if I go upstairs and fix the bathroom sink?" Leo continued, pointing toward the stairs.

"Oh, knock yourself out, Leo," Phoebe allowed cheerfully.

Leo smiled gratefully and walked off toward the stairs leaving Piper to stare after him dreamily.

Buffy watched him leave before glancing at Prue and Phoebe. "Did anyone ever think that maybe he's a warlock."

Piper glared at Buffy and stopped twirling her duster while Phoebe giggled softly at her reaction. "Why is it always someone I'm dating that gets accused of being that?" she demanded sounding resentful. Phoebe opened her mouth to reply, but Piper shook her head. "Don't answer that," she snapped just before the phone began to ring. "Answer that, it's safer," she ordered, pointing her duster at the phone.

Prue smiled and took up the phone. "Hello? Uh, yeah, hi, Rex. Look, I'm on my way in…" she began but trailed off as Rex replied. She frowned slightly and looked toward Phoebe. "Of course, hold on," Prue continued. "It's for you." She offered the phone to Phoebe before going to stand next to Buffy.

"Hello? Yes, I got the flowers and they're beautiful. That was so sweet of you. They made quite an impression over here too," Phoebe gushed, swatting at Piper, who was irritating her by 'attacking' her with the duster. Phoebe watched Prue roll her eyes at the conversation. "Dinner party? Yes, I would love to. Hold on, let me get a pen." She walked off into an adjoining room.

Piper walked over to stand next to Prue and Buffy. "You don't really think its Leo, do you?" she asked, sounding worried.

Buffy shook her head immediately. "No, Leo doesn't give trip my Slayer senses," she soothed Piper.

"So, what are we going to do? Do you have any idea who it could be that's setting you up?" Piper asked, glancing at Prue for the last question.

"It's got to be someone at the auction house," Prue started.

"Maybe it's Rex," Buffy interrupted as Prue glared at her. "I didn't want to say anything unless I was sure. Last night my spidey senses started tripping on him. Then when Andy and Darryl were searching the house I felt that same feeling again …" she admitted, biting her lip slightly. "And just before they left the feeling disappeared."

Prue frowned thoughtfully. "Why would he want to set me up, Buffy? But I do agree it has got to be someone at the auction house. And if I had to guess, I would start with the person who said that they were out to destroy me."

"Hannah?" Buffy and Piper pressed.

Prue smiled. "Smart girls," she laughed as she made to go to work.

"Wait, Prue. Do you want me to go with you? I could help investigate," Buffy suggested, stopping Prue in her tracks.

Prue thought about it and then nodded motioning for Buffy to get her jacket.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Leo walked into the attic carrying his toolbox which he placed on a table just inside the door. He carefully closed the door behind him and waved his hand over the chests that were against the walls of the attic. They all opened and he walked forward to look inside them. His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the tiara sitting on top of Buffy's weapons in her weapons chest. Footsteps echoed through the house and he hastily waved his head, shutting the chests just before Piper came in.

Piper halted, appearing surprised at Leo's presence in the attic. "Leo, what are you doing? I thought you were going to fix the sink," Piper responded in confusion. She smiled slightly, but she was a little suspicious.

"Yeah, I was, I—I mean, I am. I just, uh, needed to fix a light downstairs and I was hoping there'd be some old fixtures up here that I could cannibalize," Leo explained calmly receiving a nod from Piper. "Listen, uh, there's something I need to tell you. Something I don't think you're gonna like. Uh, I might have to leave here soon. I might have to go back home."

"Is home far away?" Piper asked, guessing the answer. She inwardly sighed, thinking she should have seen something like this coming.

"Yeah, it's pretty far," Leo replied and then seeing the expression in her eyes hastily tried to help. "I mean, I don't know for sure yet, but, uh, you know, I wanted you to know, just in case."

Piper smiled and laughed softly. "Thanks," she whispered.

Leo watched her for a moment before deciding it best to get back to work. "Well, I, uh, better get back to work," he decided walking forward and kissing her lightly on the cheek before heading down the stairs.

Piper waited until she heard his footsteps on the stairs before turning around. She was about to head back down when her eyes caught sight of Buffy's weapons chest, it was slightly ajar. Piper opened it as she narrowed her eyes and pulled out the tiara, the suspicions that Buffy had said coming back.

Rex's Apartment

Phoebe glanced down at the paper that had Rex's address and apartment number written on it before ringing the doorbell at that location. As she placed the paper back in her purse and waited for Rex to answer the door, Rex astral projected next to her.

"You will see a spectacular apartment," he whispered in her ear. He astral projected back out and opened the door to his apartment. "Phoebe, I am so glad that you could make it," Rex greeted, stepping back and opening the door wider to allow her in. "Please," he invited.

Phoebe walked in and looked around at the beautifully arranged apartment. "Wow, this is…" she trailed off speechless.

"Spectacular?" Rex suggested.

"That is exactly the word I was going to use!" Phoebe exclaimed with a laugh.

"We must be on the same wavelength," Rex concluded cheerfully. They laughed for a moment before he continued. "Champagne?" he offered.

Phoebe smiled but shook her head politely. "Uh, no thank you," she declined, taking several steps toward the couch.

"No, I insist," Rex countered, moving over to the bar and pouring two glasses of champagne while Phoebe looked around the apartment curiously.

"Um, am I early?" Phoebe asked as there was no one else in the apartment yet.

Rex looked up from the glasses for a moment to glance at her. "No, you're right on time," he assured her.

"But I thought you said you were having a dinner party," Phoebe pointed out, pulling her jacket off and folding it over her arm.

"Yes, I am. With a very exclusive guest list. Just you and me," Rex explained as he took up the two glasses and joined Phoebe on the couch. "A toast. To your interview," he suggested, passing her one of the champagne glasses.

Phoebe took the glass from him, tilting her head curiously. "Interview?" she prompted.

"Yeah, at, um, Zeitgeist Magazine. They want to meet with you, perhaps, um, hire you for the fashion section. Interested?" Rex wondered.

Phoebe laughed softly. "Very," she allowed, nodding her head eagerly. She narrowed her eyes in playful suspicion. "What's the catch?"

Rex leaned forward slightly. "You have to sleep with me." Phoebe's eyes flashed and she sat her glass of champagne down on the table in front of her. She made to stand up before Rex cut in. "Phoebe, what sort of man do you think I am?" he soothed, throwing his hands up innocently to show he was joking. There was a moment of silence before Phoebe laughed with him after deciding he was in fact joking. Rex looked down at his hand before glancing back at Phoebe. "Um, I hope you like sushi. Imported fresh from Kyoto. Please, just make yourself comfortable," Rex offered, leaving into an adjoining room.

Phoebe watched him leave and reached for her purse where she pulled out her little mirror to touch up her make-up.

Rex astral projected next to her on the couch. "You're having a premonition of Buffy and Prue at Prue's work," he began.

Phoebe jerked as she was pulled into a premonition, dropping her lipstick in surprise.

"They're in danger. You fear a warlock is after them. You must save them," Rex ordered.

Phoebe saw Buffy and Prue run down the hallway of Bucklands with a panther chasing them. "Prue, Buffy," Phoebe breathed, jumping to her feet as Astral Rex returned to his body and came back in the room. She glanced over at him apologetically, already taking steps toward the door. "Uh, hi. I, uh, I gotta go. I-I-I'm really sorry and I can't explain, but, uh, uh, I'll call you, okay? Sorry. Really sorry," she babbled, running out the door.

Rex feigned confusion until he heard the door close behind Phoebe. He smiled and snapped his fingers and the beautiful apartment was replaced with a dark and unused room. He calmly pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "911? I'm calling from Bucklands Auction House. I think something's trying to kill me. Please, hurry."

Bucklands Auction House

Buffy and Prue walked down the empty hallways to Prue's office when the security guard Jaime came around behind them.

"Working late?" Jaime asked cheerfully causing Prue to jump in surprise. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare either of you," he apologized.

"It's okay, uh, I guess I'm just a little jumpy lately," Prue admitted, placing her hand against her pounding heart in an attempt to calm it down.

Jaime nodded in understanding. "Can't blame you with everything that's been going on."

"Yeah, um, listen, Jaime, I was wondering. When the tiara was stolen, was anyone else still here? Like Hannah or-or-or Rex, maybe?" Prue questioned hopefully, crossing her arms across her chest.

"No, you were the last one out. Just like tonight. Hardest working woman I've ever met," Jaime replied with a smile. His smile faltered at her look of disappointment and worry that she couldn't quite hide. "For what it's worth, Prue, I know you didn't take it. I mean, of all people, there's no way."

"Neither do Piper, Phoebe or I," Buffy said as Jaime smiled at her.

Prue smiled a little. "Thanks," she whispered gratefully.

Buffy and Prue's eyes followed him until he had left to continue his rounds around the auction house. They then turned back to her office, but was distracted by Hannah's open office door.

"Hannah's computer," Prue murmured thoughtfully, making their way inside. Prue sat in the rolling chair and spun around to face the computer where the employee search engine was open.

"Look up Hannah since you think it could be her," suggested Buffy.

Prue nodded as she typed in 'Webster, Hannah.' Her eyes narrowed in confusion. "No listing," she told her cousin.

"Try Rex."

Prue glanced at Buffy and then nodded as she typed in 'Buckland, Rex' with the same results. "Same for Rex." She bit her lip and started to type something else in when Rex astral projected behind them.

"Someone's after you both. Behind you," Rex whispered into their ears. Buffy and Prue jumped and glanced nervously behind them. "You both fear it's a warlock with powers greater than yours," he continued.

Prue pushed away from Hannah's desk and she and Buffy ran out of the office.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

In the warehouse, Jaime continued his rounds looking for anything out of the ordinary, his flashlight leading the way.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Buffy and Prue ran to the elevator and Prue began furiously pressing the 'down' button when Astral Rex appeared next to her.

"You both hear a scream. An innocent to protect in the warehouse," Astral Rex continued his plan.

Buffy glanced back toward the stairs that led to the warehouse then at Prue. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

"Yeah. Jaime," Prue said, as she and Buffy took off toward the warehouse.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Jaime turned around upon hearing the sudden footsteps running down the stairs. Hannah came up behind him and hit him over the head with an artifact. Jaime dropped to the ground and Hannah casually threw a security tape down next to him. Hannah then dropped the artifact to the ground where she was sure Prue or Buffy would see it before walking away.

"One of you are to grab the artifact just inside the door," Astral Rex called after Prue and Buffy.

Buffy and Prue ran through the dark warehouse, halting upon seeing the artifact on the floor. Buffy bent down to pick it up as Prue caught sight of Jaime on the ground. "Jaime. Jaime," Prue breathed, she and Buffy dropping to their knees beside him.

Phoebe came running into the warehouse stopping next to Prue and Buffy. "Prue! Buffy!" she exclaimed. Phoebe dropped down between Buffy and Prue, feeling for a pulse.

"Phoebe …" Prue whispered, leaning into her little sister.

"Thank god you both are alright," Phoebe replied, wrapping one arm around Buffy and the other arm around Prue.

Buffy glanced back to Jaime's body. "He's dead…"

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The police had arrived and were investigating the cause of Jaime's death while Prue, Phoebe, and Buffy were huddled together not far from the body. Everyone looked up as Morris came back next to them.

"Tape found by the body? Security. Showing Prue exiting the vault, putting the missing tiara in her briefcase," Darryl announced.

Phoebe and Buffy's mouths dropped in surprise while Prue's eyes widened. "What? That can't be!" Prue argued, stunned.

"Yeah, Prue's not stupid enough to think she could get away with something like that!" Buffy added, earning glances from Prue and Phoebe.

"I just saw it for myself," Darryl countered.

Prue turned away from Darryl and Andy back to Phoebe and Buffy. "Somebody must have manipulated me into taking it," she concluded, grabbing Phoebe's hands nervously.

Phoebe was nodding in agreement. "The same way someone manipulated me into being a witness against my cousin," Phoebe reminded them having seen the murder weapon in Buffy's hands when she arrived.

"Any idea what they're talking about?" Darryl asked, turning to Andy.

"Not a clue," Andy replied with a slight shake of his head. He took out his police notebook and began writing down important information and facts that had been confirmed.

"Phoebe, you were with Rex tonight, weren't you?" Prue asked as she turned to Phoebe.

"Yeah, Prue, but I don't think this is the time or the place to get into that," Phoebe pointed out with a hint of irritation.

Buffy looked at Prue and nodded as she saw where her eldest cousin was going. "She just meant that don't you find it a little coincidental that right when you two start dating, all of this is going on?" she elaborated.

Phoebe shook her head defiantly. "No, I do not," she answered with a roll of her eyes. "Besides, Prue, I thought that you thought that Hannah was behind all of this," she continued loud enough that Andy looked up to listen curiously.

Darryl broke off the argument. "Excuse me, ladies. Do you mind if we ask a few questions?" he asked sounding a little exasperated.

"Buffy and I already told you what happened, okay? Buffy had come with me having no school today to watch me work. I was working late, Buffy and I heard a noise, we came down and found Jaime," Prue explained again, bordering on hysteria by this point.

"Neither of you didn't know he had the tape?" Andy questioned pointing toward Jaime's body.

Buffy glanced over at Andy. "No, of course not."

"And why exactly did you pick up the murder weapon again?" Andy continued looking at Buffy.

"You think Buffy killed him? Is that it, Andy?" Phoebe snapped, her patience running out. Not to mention she felt a hint of betrayal by Andy.

Prue glanced at Phoebe. "Phoebe," she breathed, gently telling her sister not to go there.

"No," Phoebe argued. "I want to know how far he's gonna go with this and none of this has anything to do with the fact that Prue dumped you, does it?"

"Stop it," Prue pleaded softly.

Andy narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Look, we got Buffy and Prue standing over the dead body of the very security guard who last saw Prue with the tiara," he began.

"With the missing security tape showing Prue taking it," Darryl continued.

"And Buffy holding the murder weapon which you were there to witness. What are we supposed to think?" Andy demanded, staring at Phoebe in particular.

"That Prue and I are guilty as hell for two different crimes," Buffy muttered, tears forming in her eyes.

Phoebe stepped forward a little nervously. "They didn't do anything," she insisted, close to tears.

"Then who did? Did you see anybody run past you on the way here?" Darryl challenged.

"No," Phoebe replied shortly.

Andy sighed softly. "I'm sorry, Buffy, Prue. Brian," he called over another cop who pulled out his handcuffs. "Buffy, you're under arrest for suspicion of murder. Prue, you're under arrest for suspicion as an accessory to murder."

The cop named Brian closed the handcuffs first around Buffy's and then Prue's wrists. Neither Buffy or Prue could stop as her tears fell from their eyes.

"You're going to go home, find Piper, and tell her everything," Prue ordered softly.

Phoebe nodded slightly. "We'll get you both out," she whispered.

Brian led Buffy and Prue away from Phoebe and toward the car.

Phoebe watched as Buffy and Prue left and continued staring at where they had disappeared long after they must have been taken to the station.

Rex's Apartment

"We should hire a lawyer," Piper insisted as she followed Phoebe to Rex's apartment.

"With what money?" Phoebe countered.

Piper sighed before stopping just outside the door to the apartment. "I don't know but we can't let Buffy or Prue sit in jail all night," she retorted.

Phoebe nodded in agreement as she pushed the doorbell. "That's why we're here. To get Rex's help," she replied. She turned and knocked on the door. When there was no answer she reached for the door handle.

"What are you doing?" Piper asked nervously.

Phoebe didn't answer and pushed the door open upon finding it unlocked. She stepped into the dark, empty room, nothing even moderately the same as it had been when Phoebe was there earlier.

Piper walked in after her a look of confusion crossing her face.

"This is so weird," Phoebe murmured, walking farther into the apartment and looking around.

"Are you sure this is the right place?' Piper questioned doubtfully.

Phoebe bent down and picked up her lipstick off the floor where she had dropped it when she'd had the premonition. "This is my lipstick, I'm positive. He couldn't have moved out that fast. It must have been an illusion, all of it. Even my premonition," she decided her voice echoing her frustration.

"How is that possible?" Piper demanded.

Phoebe shrugged. "Mind control, astral projection, throwing charms, who knows," she listed uncertainly. "Which means Buffy was right about Rex. Damn, I'm dating a warlock," she muttered, loud enough for her sister to hear.

"Been there, done that," Piper pointed out in an attempt to lighten the mood slightly.

San Francisco Police Department

Buffy sighed as she watched Prue pace back and forth in her cell. "Can you stop, Prue," she said.

Prue glanced at Buffy and let out a sigh. The main reason she and Buffy were even in the same cell was because Buffy was a minor and she was Buffy's legal guardian. When Darryl and Andy had tried interrogating Buffy after bringing them to the station, Prue had reminded them of Buffy being a minor. They had reluctantly agreed to wait till Piper or Phoebe had hired a lawyer or were there themselves so that Buffy had someone of age present who wasn't being charged as well for the same crime.

"Sorry, Buffy," Prue said looking at her cousin. "My nerves are just a little rattled. It's bad enough that I am in here. It's even worse that you are the one actually being charged with murder."

"I know," Buffy said as she moved over to Prue and wrapped an arm around her. "But we'll get out of this. I don't know how, but we will."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Andy leaned against the wall next to his desk, staring out the window to watch the traffic drive by. As much as he tried to make himself believe, he couldn't accept the fact that Buffy or Prue was responsible for this. Sure the evidence was sound, but the little things just didn't fit. They had seemed thoroughly surprised when Darryl said he'd seen the tape of Prue taking the tiara. Buffy and Prue had to have seen the security camera tape so if either of them had been guilty why did they just leave it… why did they stay at all? Why did Buffy pick up the murder weapon? It just wasn't smart… and Prue had always been smart. She had time to cover everything up and yet she hadn't. Andy was so lost in his thoughts he didn't hear Darryl come up behind him until Darryl spoke.

"Hey," Darryl called, lightly shaking Andy out of his reverie.

"Hey," Andy repeated with only a quick glance over his shoulder.

"You wanna talk?" Darryl asked.

Andy's eyes flickered to his computer where he was checking every employee from Bucklands for anything unusual. Rex and Hannah in particular. "I'm just running background checks on all the other employees at the auction house," he replied with a shrug.

Darryl shook his head slightly at his partner's avoidance. "That's not what I meant, Andy."

"Andy?" Andy quoted in surprise. "Did you just call me by my first name? I wasn't even sure you knew it."

"I heard Prue say it," Darryl joked.

Andy laughed for a moment before he remembered her situation. "Neither Prue or Buffy did it, Morris," he insisted. He was positive, now he just had to prove it.

"You keep saying that," Darryl pointed out mildly.

Andy dropped into his chair behind his computer. "It's too pat, too easy. The evidence just keeps falling in our laps."

Darryl took the seat next to Andy's desk and leaned slightly forward to Andy. "Maybe your personal feelings are getting in the way," he tried, being careful with the wording. He didn't want to tick Andy off.

"We've had that conversation okay," Andy ended that topic quickly.

"Okay, but you have to admit. You stopped seeing Prue for a reason. You thought she was hiding something from you. How do you know she wasn't hiding something like this?" Darryl challenged.

Andy leaned a little forward, thinking it over seriously. "A secret life of crime with her cousin? I don't think so," he argued lightly.

"You got a better explanation?" Darryl asked, receiving only silence from Andy.

Andy leaned back into his chair with a sigh. Prue along with Buffy, Phoebe and Piper had all been connected to weird happenings. Mysteries… More than a few tied to occult-like people. There was Buffy and the sisters outside the photographer Stefan's building. Disappeared and the women mysteriously showing back up. Not a week later he remembered the strange girl that had hung around the Manor after having found their cat. Andy remembered holding the popcorn in his hand, the girl reaching toward it and then it suddenly beginning to pop. He also knew that same girl was now friends with Buffy, that could hardly have been a coincidence. Lastly, the most recent event with the Halliwells being involved with the guy that fell out of Prue's office window. He had been trying to kill Halliwells and Andy was certain he had been looking for them. After all, he started with Prue and he had disappeared too. Not to even mention Prue randomly cutting dates short, being extremely late and distracted, or sometimes not even being able to show up at all… In fact, it wouldn't surprise him in the least if this case wasn't everything that it seemed. There was more to it and Andy was missing it.

Darryl had stood up and was watching Andy thoughtfully. "Do you want to book Prue in at county jail?" he finally asked. "And Buffy over at juvie?"

"No, let's just keep them both here for as long as we can. At least until the arraignment," Andy replied, before turning back to his computer and his thoughts.

Halliwell Manor

Piper ran down the stairs, clutching the tiara tightly in her hands. Phoebe was waiting for her at the bottom trying to figure out what she thought she was doing.

"Piper, what are you doing?" Phoebe asked as Piper stopped in front of her.

Piper held up the tiara so that her little sister could see it. "Getting rid of the evidence. They can't bust Buffy or Prue for murder if they don't have a motive," she replied knowingly. All they had to do was find a way to get rid of the tiara.

"Mouth," Phoebe hissed. "Leo's in the kitchen."

"Oh, he is? Really?" Piper responded with a grin and a hopeful look in the direction of the kitchen.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Focus!" she ordered. She put her arm around Piper's shoulders and pulled her in the other direction. "Listen, the last thing we need to worry about is the legal system. We're up against a warlock now."

"Two if Prue is right about Hannah," Piper agreed.

Phoebe gave a slight nod of agreement. "Exactly, which means we have to figure out what they want. It can't just be to frame Buffy or Prue."

"Unless in doing so, somehow they think they can get our powers, which is what warlocks want," Piper pointed out following Phoebe's train of thought.

"Which means they've divided us up so that we no longer have the Power of Three or the Charmed Slayer to stop them," Phoebe finished with a roll of her eyes.

"What are we gonna do?" Piper asked, her eyebrows furrowing in worry.

Phoebe was silent a moment as she thought up a plan. "We have no choice," she decided, grabbing the tiara from Piper and hiding it in the top of the nearby closet.

Astral Rex watched from where he sat on the couch, but by now the damage had already been done.

"Alright. Let's go," Phoebe called, grabbing onto Piper and pulling her toward the door.

"Go? Go where? Phoebe?" Piper demanded nervously.

Phoebe smiled reassuringly at her elder sister. "Piper, it's gonna be alright," she promised.

San Francisco Police Department

Phoebe pulled a reluctant Piper along behind her. "This is crazy," Piper hissed as her little sister pulled her toward the cells. She glanced nervously around at the guards that passed them.

"We have to get Buffy and Prue out before Rex makes his move on us," Phoebe argued softly.

"But we can't break them out!" Piper insisted, trying to pull away from her sister's grasp.

Phoebe tightened her grip on Piper and pulled her back forward. "Yes we can. We're witches. All you have to do is freeze the guards and then unlock Buffy and Prue's cell," she explained.

"Me? What about you?" Piper demanded, casting a glare at her little sister.

"Somebody's got to stay out here in case something goes wrong," Phoebe replied, placing her hand on the door. "Ready? On three."

"No, Phoebe," Piper snapped.

"Three," Phoebe decided, pulling the door open and revealing a security guard.

Piper threw her hands up instinctively, freezing the guard as he turned to glance toward them. She glanced toward Phoebe with wide eyes. Phoebe pushed her into the building and closed the door behind her.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Silently cursing her luck and her little sister, Piper walked through the hallway. She stopped at the first gate and reached through the bars to take the keys from the frozen guard.

Buffy and Prue stared at her for several moments in surprise. "I can't believe you're doing this," Prue exclaimed with a slight shake of her head.

Piper didn't answer and picked the correct key, unlocking the gate in front of her.

"Are you out of your mind?" Prue asked sarcastically as Piper stopped outside hers and Buffy's cell and searched for the correct key to unlock it.

"Just so we're clear, this was Phoebe's idea," Piper responded, finally unlocking the cell and opening the door to let Prue and Buffy out.

Prue frowned in confusion. "What?"

"We think Rex is a warlock and he's after our powers. Phoebe's outside waiting for you to rub her nose in it," Piper explained and motioned for Prue and Buffy to follow. Prue and Buffy hesitated, not liking the plan at all. She rolled her eyes. "Well, come on, you two. Before they unfreeze," she ordered, trying to hurry her older sister and cousin along.

Buffy and Prue still didn't move. "Piper, this isn't right," Buffy said.

"Well, neither is the gas chamber. Look, if we're lucky, we'll vanquish them and still get you both back by morning rounds," Piper countered, glancing nervously back at the frozen guards.

Buffy and Prue sighed and spun around back to their beds. They hurriedly stuffed pillows under the sheets to make it look like they were there sleeping.

Piper stared at them in disbelief. "That's pretty lame," she pointed out irritably.

"Tell that to my mom," Buffy said. "Since I didn't know that she knew about the supernatural. I used to sneak out when I went on patrol, this was of course before I fought Lothos. I did this exact thing all the time, never got caught."

"Let's go," Prue said as she and Buffy dashed out of the cell, stopping only long enough for Piper to lock the cell back up. As they passed the guard, Buffy reached up toward him.

"Don't touch him. Don't touch him. Don't," Piper hissed as Buffy took the guard's donut.

"Sorry, but I'm hungry or have you forgotten I need twice the food you do," Buffy reminded Piper.

"Come on!" Prue ordered, running out the door to find Phoebe waiting for them against the wall.

They joined hands as Phoebe led the way out back toward the car. They pulled to a stop as a camera flashed and Rex stepped out from behind a car. "Quite photogenic. Now I should think the police will find this very interesting, to say the least," he commented triumphantly as he reached into his car to set the camera down and grab the power-catching lantern.

"Rex," Prue whispered, tightening her hold on Piper and Buffy on either side of her.

Phoebe looked him over in confusion. "Wait, how did you know that we…"

"What, that you'd be here? Well, let's just say that I've been watching your every move. Without you knowing it, of course," Rex answered.

Prue glared. "You bastard," she cursed.

Rex laughed softly and took several steps toward them. "Don't get too angry, Prue. You wouldn't want to injure me with your power," he warned, approaching until he was right in front of Prue. "I'm the only chance you and Buffy have," he whispered, directly to Prue before taking a single step back and addressing all of them. "You see, while you were here conducting your little prison break, Hannah was retrieving the tiara from your home. You should have gotten rid of it when you had the chance. Personally, I actually thought that was an excellent idea."

"Astral projection," Phoebe breathed to her family.

"What do you want?" Buffy demanded.

"Your powers, of course. That's why I hired you in the first place, Prue, you know, to see if you really were the Charmed Ones and the Charmed Slayer. Then I waited to test your strength, to see how best to make my move and here we are," Rex explained.

"But why all the drama? Why didn't you just kill us and take our powers?" Phoebe questioned curiously.

"Don't give him any ideas!" Piper hissed.

Rex shook his head with a half-smile. "No, no, no. I have seen exactly what you can do when confronted directly. That's why I opted for blackmail. See, there is this special spell in both Book of Shadows that strips you of your powers forever," he began, pulling out the power-catching lantern so they could see it. "And this device will capture those powers. Then you'll bring them to me," he ordered, passing it to Prue.

"Go to hell," Prue retorted, not moving to take the lantern.

"Yeah, I'd love to, darling. I miss it terribly. And this will help me return with honors. In return, I'll give you the photo and tell the police that I simply misplaced the tiara. No theft, no motive for murder, no prison," Rex offered triumphantly. "You really don't have much time. Only until the prison guards realize you and Buffy have escaped. Well?" He held the lantern back out toward Prue.

Reluctantly, Prue reached forward and grabbed the lantern.

Halliwell Manor

They were all scattered around the Conservatory of the Manor. Piper was on the couch with the Charmed Ones' Book open in front of her to the page 'The Relinquishment Spell.' Buffy sat next to her with her Book open to an identical page. Prue was pacing in a large circle. Phoebe was standing next to Piper and Buffy.

"It's a relinquishment spell. If we read it aloud, it takes away all of our powers," Piper explained, glancing up from the Charmed Ones' Book to look at Phoebe, who was closest.

"It's in mine as well," said Buffy with a sigh. She glanced over at the Charmed Ones' Book to compare the spells. "Once again my version is singular."

"Is there any way to reverse them?" Phoebe asked shortly.

Piper and Buffy looked back down at the books and then at each other shaking their heads before looking back at Phoebe. "Neither book says," Piper replied.

"Well, then I say we flip to another page and find a spell that kicks Rex's warlock ass," Phoebe suggested enthusiastically.

Prue quickly shook her head. "We can't," she responded.

Phoebe turned to Prue with a look of confusion. "Why can't we?" she demanded.

"Because for all we know he's here, right now, watching us. And if we don't do exactly what he says, he'll tell the police Buffy and I've escaped," Prue argued, playing with her hands for no other reason than to keep them busy.

Buffy glanced around. "I don't think he's here," she offered and Phoebe brightened a little. "But that means really nothing. He could have found a way of blocking my spidey senses."

"I don't think we should risk it. Not in this situation," Piper sighed.

"But we can't give up our powers without a fight. It's like giving up who we are, who we've become," Phoebe retorted, crossing her arms defiantly.

Piper glanced at her little sister. "Who we've come from."

Phoebe nodded and cast Piper a grateful glance. "Exactly. These powers are gifts. Gifts that were given to us to protect and ultimately to pass on to the next generation," she continued desperately.

Buffy sighed. "As much as I agree with you. I don't think we have much of a choice."

Prue ran a hand through her hair in frustration as she took several steps forward. "Don't you think I know that? I mean, how do you think Buffy or I feel, Phoebe? I'm the one who got us into this situation. Then by accident I dragged Buffy into it. Think about it. I was only charged as being an accessory. Buffy was the one to be charged for murder. Last I checked the age for a minor to be tried as an adult is fourteen. Buffy could go to prison."

"Prue, it's not your fault," Piper immediately replied, hoping to stop her eldest sister from blaming herself for a situation that was beyond her control.

"It's not," Phoebe agreed sympathetically.

"Yeah, but I'm the one that Rex tricked," Prue pointed out. "I'm the reason why we're having this conversation."

Buffy crossed her arms across her chest. "No, he tricked all of us. I mean, Phoebe was dating him, Piper and I didn't suspect anything. You were just unlucky enough to be the one that worked with him," she argued. "He was probably astral projecting into the office when we thought we heard Jaime scream."

Prue looked at her cousin and sighed, she knew Buffy was right. "Your right, Buffy."

"There has got to be a way out of this," Phoebe told them.

"What way? Become fugitives? Something tells me that's not the best way to go about protecting the innocent," Piper snapped.

Phoebe shrugged and looked away from Piper. "Yeah, well, we can't protect the innocent without our powers. And, even worse, if we give them up, we'd be giving them up to evil."

"No, we can't let that happen," Prue decided immediately.

"Yeah we can't," Buffy agreed.

Piper slowly stood up from where she sat on the couch. "Well, we can't let either of you die in jail, either. Besides, with you two behind bars, we'll be divided. Rex wins either way. On top of that with Buffy behind bars, not only are we still divided but there is no Slayer. How long do you think it will take before vampires realize the Hellmouth is unguarded?"

Phoebe sighed in defeat. "I don't want to have to do this," she whispered.

"Neither do I, but we don't have a choice. All we can do is take a leap of faith and hope that somehow it all works out," Piper replied gently.

Outside the door, Leo stood listening to their conversation.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Buffy sat in a circle in the attic with both books opened to 'the Relinquishment Spell.' They reluctantly joined hands and Prue began the spell.

"From whence they came, return them now, vanish the words, vanish our powers."

Piper was the next to speak. "From whence they came, return them now, vanish the words, vanish our powers."

All eyes looked to Phoebe, who was staring at the book defiantly as if it was the book's fault they had to do this.

"Come on, Phoebe," Piper prompted.

"Okay," Phoebe sighed loudly. "From whence they came, return them now, vanish the words, vanish our powers."

Buffy let out a sigh as it was her turn. "Bye to being the Charmed Slayer. Hello to being just the Slayer again with likely an early expiration. From whence they came, return them now, vanish the words, vanish my powers."

White orbs filled the room as a heavy wind picked up. The pages in both Book of Shadows began to flip and the words disappeared. Four small white balls of light flowed into the lantern that was sitting on the edge of the table and the wind subsided.

"Look," Phoebe whispered, flipping through the pages of both Book of Shadows. Every page was empty of words.

Piper dropped her head into her hands, Buffy wrapped her arms around herself, and Prue looked away unable to look at the books which had meant so much to them in the last two months.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," Phoebe offered.

"Yep," Piper agreed softly.

Buffy glanced away from her book, back to Prue. "If we're going to do this, we need to hurry."

Prue nodded and grabbed the lantern. "Let's get this over with."

Bucklands Auction House

Rex and Hannah waited in Rex's office for the four sisters to bring their powers. Rex was seated on his couch while Hannah stood in front of him, looking excited.

"They're coming," Rex announced and Hannah's face split into a wide grin.

"Good," she breathed, dropping to the floor onto her hands and knees. As she hit the floor, Hannah shape shifted into a panther. Hannah growled and moved a few steps forward.

"I love you too, darling," Rex replied, his eyes following Hannah.

San Francisco Police Department

The police station was empty of all officers except Andy and the only light came from his computer. He hesitantly typed in 'Webster, Hannah' on his database search. He took a sip of coffee as he waited for the search to finish. The page finally came up and on it there was a picture of an African American woman.

"Why, Hannah, you've changed," Andy commented, quickly reading over the information of the real Hannah's death. An unsolved homicide. "Dead 2/20/97," he read aloud. He typed in Rex Buckland and eagerly awaited the search. The picture that showed up was of an older, balding man, his death also an unsolved homicide. "Died 2/20/97." Andy smiled triumphantly and reached for the phone. He dialed a number and waited for his partner to pick up. "Mr. Morris, Trudeau. Get your butt over here. I think I figured out who framed Buffy and Prue."

Bucklands Auction House

Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Buffy trailed out of the elevator onto the twelfth floor, Prue clutching the lantern.

"Okay, I say as soon as we get the photo and the tiara back, we knock the lantern out of Rex's hands and stomp on it," Phoebe suggested in desperation as she led the way to Rex's office.

"What will that do?" Buffy asked unconvinced of anything helpful happening.

Phoebe just shrugged. "I don't know. Free our powers? It's better than doing nothing."

Piper bit her lip and grabbed Prue by the arm, halting the sisters' progression forward. "How do we know this isn't just a trap?"

Rex stepped out from his office and slowly advanced toward them. "You don't actually, but nevertheless here you are. Powerless, I presume," he replied to Piper's question though it hadn't been directed to him.

"Where's Hannah?" Prue demanded, her eyes not leaving Rex though Buffy glanced around nervously for the missing warlock.

"Lurking. That's what she does best," Rex answered. "Now, the lantern if you please," he prompted, holding his hand out and taking it from Prue's grasp. He sighed in triumph. At long last he had their powers. Rex's eyes flickered over the Halliwells. "It feels a little anticlimactic, don't you think? Too easy, almost. It feels as if we need a more satisfying ending." He slowly walked around behind them, the cue for Hannah to come out.

The panther, Hannah's current form, padded out of Rex's office and headed for Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Buffy.

"Oh, oh," Phoebe breathed.

Buffy moved in front of her cousins who huddled together behind her. She may not have powers, but she was still a Slayer. She would protect them with her dying breath.

The Halliwell Manor

Leo threw open the door to the attic, dropping his toolbox next to the door and hastily walking to where the both Book of Shadows sat on the table. He held one hand over one book and the other hand over the other as his hands began to glow. The golden light spread over both books and words began to reappear on the pages.

Bucklands Auction House

Rex looked down at the lantern his hands as the little white balls of light began to glow and leave the lantern. "No," he whispered as they moved back toward their respective witch. "Hannah, now. Quickly," he ordered as the Halliwells hadn't noticed the return of their powers.

The panther ran forward and leaped at them. Buffy instinctively formed a fireball in her hand just as Piper threw her hands out, freezing the panther mid-leap and Rex, holding the lantern.

The Halliwells were frozen in shock for several moments. "Alright, does somebody want to explain to me what just happened?" Buffy asked as she stared at the fireball in her hand.

"Wait? We have our powers back?" Phoebe demanded just as confused as Buffy.

"How?" Piper wondered, staring at her hands in shock.

Prue glanced between Rex and Hannah curiously. "Uh, doesn't matter. Get outta here. Fast," she ordered, pushing her family out of the way of Hannah's leap. They stopped behind Rex and as Buffy put out the fireball, she smirked. "Rex!" she called out as he flamed out and back in front of Hannah just as the freeze wore off.

Hannah landed on Rex and thinking he was one of the Charmed Ones, fought through his struggles until she broke his neck. She pulled back upon recognizing Rex and shape shifted back into her human form. "Rex, no," she whispered appearing horrified as she stepped away from his body. Her eyes flashed in anger and she glared at the Halliwells. "What have you done?" she screamed just as fire and smoke began to surround both Rex's body and Hannah. Hannah looked around, terrified. "Wait, it wasn't my fault. I didn't fail. He did. No, please, no!" she pleaded as they disappeared in the flames.

All four of them stared at the spot where Rex and Hannah had been in shock and horror. "What the hell was that?" Piper was the first to recover enough to ask the question they were all thinking.

"I think you just answered your own question," Phoebe offered, biting her lip slightly.

"That was close… way too close," Buffy whispered.

Prue took several deep calming breaths and glanced down at the watch on her wrist. "Okay, we have to get Buffy and I back to jail now. Let's go," she decided and the Halliwells moved as one back to the elevator where Prue furiously pressed the 'down' button. All the while they kept shooting glances to where Rex and Hannah had been just moments before.

April 23, 1997 - Wednesday

San Francisco Police Department

"We're here to see Buffy and Prue Halliwell," Andy explained to the guard on duty with Darryl right behind him. "Thanks, Eric," he added as the guard opened up the gate, allowing Andy and Darryl through. Eric followed and opened up the cell before returning to his position. Andy and Darryl walked into her cell and stopped next to her bed where the sheets were pulled up over her. "Prue? Buffy?" Andy called softly but received no response. With a glance at Darryl, Andy pulled a sheet back to find Prue curled up asleep under the blankets. He then turned toward the other bed and found Buffy asleep under the blankets as well.

Buffy and Prue woke up due to the unexpected light hitting their faces. They looked up at both of the officers in confusion as they pushed themselves up to a sitting position. "Andy? What is it? What's going on?" Prue asked curiously.

"What's going on?" Buffy echoed.

Andy smiled slightly. "Just thought you two would like to know you both are off the hook," he answered, rather cheerfully.

"Turns out you both were right. Rex and Hannah were setting you both up, or whoever they were," Darryl elaborated to Buffy and Prue's feigned looks of confusion.

Prue raised her eyebrows to further her look of confusion and slowly stood up from the bed. "I don't understand," she admitted as Buffy stood up from her bed.

"Well, we think they killed two people, assumed their identities, and took over the auction house. Then they bilked it dry and tried to cap it off with stealing the tiara," Andy answered as simply as he could.

"Which we found hidden in his office," Darryl added almost as an afterthought.

"Wow. Did you catch them?" Buffy asked curiously.

Andy reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo. "Not yet, but I don't supposed either of you have any idea concerning this?" Andy wondered, watching Buffy and Prue's reactions closely. It was the picture Rex took of Piper and Phoebe breaking Buffy and Prue out of jail. "We found this in his office," he continued, flipping the photo around so they could see it better.

"It's quite photogenic," Prue offered with a smile. "Right, Buffy?"

"Quite," Buffy agreed.

"Isn't it?" Andy agreed, swearing he could see a mischievous glint in both Buffy and Prue's eyes.

Buffy and Prue didn't respond as Andy just smiled knowingly, taking their hands and pulling them out of the cell after him.

Halliwell Manor

"Spells, incantations, demon stuff. It's all here. Everything, just like before," Piper commented, flipping through the Charmed Ones' Book of Shadows. She, Prue, Phoebe, and Buffy were all gathered around the little table where they had left the books the night before.

"Same here," Buffy said flipping through her own book.

"Thank God," Phoebe exclaimed.

Prue was still staring at the book in confusion. "But how? I mean, we certainly didn't reverse the spell," she pointed out mildly.

"Maybe we screwed it up," Phoebe suggested with a shrug and received three incredulous looks from her family. "What? It's not like it would be the first time."

"She's got a point there…" Buffy agreed with a soft laugh. "But I don't think that is the case. Something or someone must have done it. It couldn't of happened on its own."

"Why not? It's magic," Piper joked in hopes to lighten the mood. Phoebe and Buffy giggled while Prue rolled her eyes good-naturedly at the comment. They all looked over at Leo upon hearing a light tap on the door of the attic.

"Knock, knock," Leo called, effectively grabbing their attention.

"Leo," Piper greeted cheerfully.

"Uh, the front door was open. I hope it's alright. I left my toolbox," Leo hurriedly jumped to explain himself.

Piper glanced over at the toolbox with a knowing look. "That's funny. I don't remember that being there last night," she commented, leaving her sisters to meet Leo just inside the door of the attic.

Leo smiled a little guiltily. "Yeah, well, you know what Freud always said about leaving things."

"That you secretly wanted to come back for it," Piper quoted.

"Guilty," Leo admitted.

"Oh, don't use that word. Right, Buffy?" Prue muttered, running a hand through her hair and accidently gaining Leo's attention.

"Right, Prue," Buffy agreed.

Phoebe bit her lip and hurried to cover up for Buffy and Prue. "Uh, it's a long story," she offered.

"We're not here," Buffy said, linking arms with Prue and pulling her toward the back of the attic. Phoebe followed closely behind them.

Piper turned her attention away from her family back toward Leo. "Leo, you're leaving, aren't you?" she guessed with a sigh.

"Yeah, afraid so," Leo replied gently.

"Do you really have to go?" Piper asked only half-hopefully.

Leo smiled and glanced toward where the Book of Shadows was sitting. "Well, I've fixed everything I came here to fix. But I'll be back. Promise," he explained, leaning forward and kissing her. "Nothing can keep me away from you too long." He took a step back and picked up his toolbox before reluctantly heading down the stairs.

Piper slowly turned away from him and took several steps back towards her cousin and sisters. "Well, at least he wasn't a warlock."

Phoebe looked from where Leo had left back to the book. "Hey, you don't suppose Leo…" she trailed off pointing at the book. She stopped as she saw Prue and Buffy tearing out 'the Relinquishment Spell' page from both books. "What are you two doing?" she demanded with wide eyes.

"Just getting rid of the Relinquishment Spell. Now that we've got our powers back, I certainly don't want to risk losing them again," Prue replied, passing Piper a box of matches.

"I second that," Piper announced, opening up the box of matches and lighting one.

"Third," Phoebe agreed.

"Fourth!" Buffy exclaimed, taking the match from Piper and lighting first the edge of the page from her book and then the edge of the page from the Charmed Ones' book.

Prue smiled eagerly. "So witches forever?" she prompted.

"And damn proud of it!" Phoebe laughed as the pages were engulfed in flames as Buffy and Prue dropped them into the Wiccan bowl to burn out.

Buffy smiled as she looked at cousins. "Yeah were Charmed whether we like it or not."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Leo waved his hand as he walked down the foyer, magically opening the door. As he reached the end of the foyer he orbed out, disappearing in the swirl of blue and white lights as the door closed.