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.

20. Chapter 20: From Fear to Eternity

Chapter 20: From Fear to Eternity

June 12, 1997 - Thursday

The Magic Box

Tanjella, the young owner of the Occult shop that Buffy, Prue and Phoebe were shopping in, glanced over her shoulder at the clock on a nearby table that read 11:55 pm. Her eyes flickered to land on the two sister witches that were still looking through her merchandise. "Excuse me, but I'm getting ready to close now." Tanjella announced, causing Prue to look hurriedly down at her watch in surprise.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were open until one." Prue apologized, appearing confused as she could have sworn that open hours went until one in the morning.

"Normally, I am, but not on the eve of Friday the Thirteenth." She explained, acknowledging Prue's confusion as justified. "In fact, I kind of wanna to be closed by midnight." Tanjella added pointedly.

Prue nodded quickly and spun around to face her younger sister that was still shuffling through some charms. "Well, we won't be much longer, will we, Pheebs?" Prue pressed, subtly hinting.

"Yeah, come on Pheebs," Buffy said agreeing with Prue.

Phoebe rolled her eyes quickly and held up two different charms. "Okay, okay. So, input?" she prompted.

Buffy's eyes flickered over the small objects in her cousin's hands. "They're nice. Let's go," she offered with a slight shrug as Tanjella again glanced over her shoulder at the clock.

"They're nice?" Phoebe quoted uncertainly, her eyes narrowing in thought. "That's it? Maybe I should pick another one…" she murmured, turning her back on her eldest sister and toward the charm tables again.

Prue raised her eyebrows, not really seeing the point of the whole excursion. "Phoebe, the woman wants to close," she reminded her softly.

Phoebe nodded in understanding, bringing around another couple of charms for Buffy and Prue to look at. "I know, I know, but choosing the right good luck charm is a very big decision," she pointed out.

"If they all bring good luck, what's the worst that can happen if you choose the wrong one?" Prue asked with a small smirk at her sister's answering face.

"Alright, you know, this is why I like shopping with Piper." Phoebe returned, pushing Prue toward the cashier's table. "I'll just get them both."

Buffy rolled her eyes, "About time Pheebs."

Prue's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you need both?"

"I thought after what happened last month I would get one for Buffy." Phoebe elaborated, dropping both charms down on the cashier's desk. Prue nodded silently as she glanced at Buffy.

Tanjella reached out and picked them both up. "Okay, do you want me to put this on Piper's order?" She wondered, ringing the charms up.

"No, I'll pay separately." Phoebe answered immediately.

"Cash or charge?" Tanjella questioned.

Phoebe bit her lip slightly and slowly turned to face Prue. "Uh, will you put it on a credit card for me?" Phoebe asked apologetically. She hastily continued as Prue pulled her credit card back out of her purse. "I will pay you back. You know tomorrow I have a job interview…"

"…And the good-luck charm is gonna help you get the job." Prue finished with a short laugh.

Buffy sighed. "Yeah Pheebs. Friday the 13th really has nothing to do with good or bad luck."

Prue passed her credit card to Tanjella, who quickly swiped it through the machine. "How much?"

Tanjella looked down at the numbers on the cash register. "$25.50 plus tax," she read.

"Okay." Prue allowed.

Tanjella started to turn away but turned back and pointed to a list of names beside the cash register. "Oh, but you get 10% off if you sign the mailing list."

Phoebe grinned and picked up the pen. "See, good luck already," she announced cheerfully, writing all three of their names down.

Tanjella studied Buffy, Prue and Phoebe for several moments as she turned back with Prue's credit card. "If you're interested, we're having a Wicca gathering for the spring equinox," she explained, passing them a flyer.

Buffy bit her lip ever-so-slightly. "What makes you think that we would be interested?"

"Most witches are," Tanjella replied with a shrug.

Phoebe's eyes widened slightly and she exchanged a nervous glance with Prue. "We never said that we were witches," Prue spoke up after a moment.

Tanjella smiled knowingly and turned back to where the receipt was printing out.

Buffy, Phoebe and Prue exchanged another quick glance. "Do you think she knows?" Phoebe hissed under her breath.

"How could she?" Prue returned just as softly.

"She can't," Buffy said agreeing with Prue.

Phoebe shrugged and finished writing her name down on the mailing list while Prue signed the receipt copy and gathered their bags together.

Tanjella froze suddenly as the clock struck twelve. "Could you please hurry?" she pressed nervously.

Buffy, Phoebe and Prue hesitated and looked up at her in concern. "Is there a problem?" Phoebe wondered.

"I told you, I just, I want to be closed by midnight," Tanjella explained, hastily grabbing their stuff together for them and glancing worriedly over her shoulder.

Prue's eyes were narrowed thoughtfully. "Wow, you really take this Friday the 13th stuff seriously…" She observed.

Tanjella nodded swiftly. "Yeah, and you should too, especially this one."

Buffy tilted her head to the side quizzically. "And why is that?" she questioned.

"Because once every thirteen hundred years, there's a universal convergence of negative energy on Friday the 13th and this is the year." Tanjella explained.

"Of course it is." Prue agreed sarcastically.

The clock struck one last ring and Tanjella closed her eyes, mentally calculating. "Did you hear that? The clock struck thirteen. It's starting already," she announced, standing still for several more moments.

Buffy, Prue and Phoebe exchanged a third glance before Phoebe hesitantly reached out for their bags. "Goodnight, Tanjella," she offered and hurried after Buffy and Prue to their car. Prue hopped in the driver's seat, Phoebe in the passenger side and Buffy in the back seat.

They drove off and a cloud of smoke appeared from the sewer they had been parked on. The smoke swirled until an older demon appeared. He took a deep, refreshing breath of air before slowly turning to the building Buffy, Prue and Phoebe had just left.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

In her shop, Tanjella was finishing up closing for the night. She carefully blew out the candles that lit the room and flicked the light off. She passed by the door, but turned back as the demon knocked on it. "Sorry, we're closed," she called, turning away from the door only to turn back as the demon knocked more forcefully. "I said we're closed," she repeated, louder this time, automatically assuming it was a late-night customer. As she watched the demon stepped forward, moving through the door until he was just in front of her.

"Not to me, witch," he retorted while Tanjella paled visibly, her eyes widening in realization.

"Oh my god," she whispered, reaching out desperately for an amulet that lay beside her.

The demon smirked. "Amulets don't work with this demon," he told her before slowly waving his hand over her face. His eyes watched his hand as if reading something. "Your greatest fear is being buried alive… in an earthquake." As he spoke, the whole building began to shake. Objects fell off their shelves, the lights flickered ominously and Tanjella began to shake as her worst fear became real. She screamed in terror as a large cabinet full of trinkets almost fell on top of her.

The demon smiled and held his arms out as if reveling in his power and her screams. "Yes… you can't run, you're frozen… in fear!" he yelled. The shaking grew more violent until Tanjella fell to the ground, lifeless. Everything stilled immediately, objects lay where they had fallen, light fixtures broken, and Tanjella's body in the middle, her hair white and her eyes wide with fear. Satisfied, the demon stepped around her body and approached the signed mailing list. He waved his hand over it and the names of witches, including Buffy's, Prue's and Phoebe's names disappeared from the page. With one last look around at the chaos, he turned and left.

June 13, 1997 - Friday

Halliwell Manor

The next morning Piper ran down the stairs, slightly anxious for the day ahead. She'd never been a fan of Friday the 13th, having terrible luck on a normal day. Now with the demons popping in every week she was worrying even more. The main reason she'd sent Prue to the Occult shop at midnight though Phoebe had been begging Prue to take her for almost a week. Piper grabbed the box of trinkets that Buffy, Prue and Phoebe had bought for her, following her request of course, from the nearby table as she passed through the Conservatory and into the Solarium. She placed the box in front of her and looked hopefully inside. Rabbit feet and several necklaces that supposedly brought good luck. She pulled them all out and finally chose her favorite to wear. The others would be put to good use in her pockets or around her wrist. Piper glanced up as Phoebe walked through the Solarium, coming from the kitchen. To her surprise, Buffy was following close behind, both of them carrying cups of coffee.

"Think about it. When has she ever said it to you?" Phoebe pressed, making her way toward one of the tables.

Buffy frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I don't exactly keep track of these things but I'm sure she has," she lied. Truth be told she didn't think Prue had ever told her that she loved her.

Piper's eyes followed Phoebe and Buffy as they sat down at one of the tables. "Who said what?" she demanded nosily.

"Phoebe thinks that Prue hasn't ever said 'I love you.'" Buffy explained.

Phoebe rolled her eyes slightly. "I'm serious. Just think of a time. Just one," she insisted, turning her eyes toward Piper, officially including her in the conversation. "Whenever I say it to her she always says something like 'same here' or 'me too,'" she quoted in a bad imitation of Prue.

Piper appeared thoughtful as she realized Phoebe was actually justified in her reasoning. "You know, you're right," she realized, sounding surprised.

"The girl cannot say the words 'I love you.' It's like some weird…" Phoebe broke off abruptly as Prue walked in.

"Good morning!" Prue announced cheerfully, earning several confused glances from her family as the eldest Halliwell joined them with her cup of coffee.

"Morning," Buffy didn't return the smile and each of her cousins noticed. Ever since Buffy had fought the Master they had noticed that Buffy seemed to be getting more and more depressed.

Prue looked over at Phoebe with a wide smile. "Oh, that outfit looks great on you." She complimented enthusiastically. She wondered if they could distract Buffy from her thoughts by trying to get the girl involved in the conversation.

Phoebe smiled gratefully in return. "Thank you for giving it to me."

Piper's eyes widened slightly. "Wait, you gave her that outfit? Are you feeling okay?" she wondered, teasingly reaching out with her hand to touch Prue's forehead as if checking to see if she was sick.

"It was an early birthday present." Prue explained, swatting Piper's hand away from her.

"For the next three years." Phoebe joked.

Buffy sighed as she stood and left the room leaving her coffee sitting on the table largely untouched.

"Guys," Prue said as she looked at her sisters. "Have you noticed how Buffy is lately?"

"You mean the sad face she seems to sport nowadays," said Piper as she looked between Phoebe and Prue.

"Yeah we have," Phoebe said with a sigh. "Do you think what happened with the Master drowning her did something?"

"I don't know for sure but it is looking that way," Prue admitted.

"Maybe she needs time away from San Francisco," Piper suggested. "Isn't her father supposed to be having her over for the summer?"

"That was the plan," said Prue. "He had to take care of some business stuff so he pushed back picking her up till the end of the month." Suddenly she yawned. She jumped when Piper's hand flew over her mouth and she hastily pushed it away. "What are you doing?" she demanded in confusion.

"You have to cover your mouth when you yawn or you might let the devil in." Piper explained, earning a look of amusement from her younger sister and narrowed eyes of suspicion from her elder sister. Piper irritably slammed her hands down on the table for emphasis. "Especially on Friday the 13th!"

"Is that amulet one of the things we picked up for you last night?" Prue asked, nodding her head in Piper's direction.

Piper nodded. "Yep," she answered, poking at a stone, a rabbit foot, and her other amulets. "And these. We're having a superstition themed fundraiser at the restaurant today. I'm going to need all the help that I can get."

"Don't you think you're overdoing it just a little bit?" Prue prompted gently while Piper shook her head frantically.

"With all the demons and warlocks running around? I don't think so." Piper argued. "Especially after what we were just talking about with Buffy."

"Which reminds me, I forgot to give Buffy her charm," Phoebe sighed.

Prue rolled her eyes and flashed a look to Phoebe that clearly stated that what Buffy needed was more than just a good-luck charm. "Piper, listen. Demons and warlocks… they're real. Superstitions are like old wives tales told to explain somebody's misfortune."

Piper still didn't look convinced. "Statistics show that more bad things happen on Friday the 13th than any other day. I met Jeremy on Friday the 13th."

"Really?" Phoebe asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.

"Yes, and he tried to kill me. Afterwards I find out there's a superstition that any relationship started on Friday the 13th is doomed." Piper added dramatically.

Prue giggled, neither sister swaying their stance. "More bad things happen on Friday the 13th because people put energy into believing bad things will happen." She offered. "I even talked with Rupert, Friday the 13th and Halloween are typically days when the vampire community stays in."

Piper's eyes flickered to Phoebe who she was under the impression would side with her views the most. "Phoebe," she prompted hopefully.

Phoebe shrugged. "Actually, I prefer the upside of superstition. Good fortune, which is what I hope this little honey brings me at my job interview with the real estate agent." She spoke up, holding her charm up while getting to her feet. "Hey, will you give me a lift? I'm running late." Phoebe pleaded, turning toward Piper.

Piper grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. "Sure." She allowed.

Phoebe tossed one of the charms she held to Prue. "It may not work but just give it to her, see if it will at least make her smile?"

"Alright," Prue reluctantly agreed as she caught the charm. "I'm also going to have her come with me to work today so I can keep an eye on her."

"Good thinking," agreed Piper as she followed Phoebe toward the front door.

"Okay, well, have a great day, Prue. I love you." Phoebe called pointedly over her shoulder.

Prue was heading for the stairs and didn't realize the hidden intention behind her words. "Yeah, me too," she answered.

Piper and Phoebe hesitated and glanced at each other, which went unnoticed by the eldest Halliwell, before they proceeded in leaving the Manor. Piper pulled her jacket on as she followed Phoebe down the hall to the front door. "I wonder if she knows she does that…" Piper murmured thoughtfully.

Phoebe shrugged and pulled the front door open revealing Andy on the other side of the threshold. His hand was up as if just about to knock when the door was pulled open.

"Hey, Andy." Piper greeted cheerfully.

Andy smiled and quickly put his hand down at his side. "Hey, Prue in?" He asked, looking around Piper and Phoebe as if expecting to see Prue.

Phoebe gave a slight nod and turned back toward the inside of the house. "Prue, there's a policeman here to see you!" she yelled loudly, slipping out as Andy slipped in.

"See ya' later, Andy. We're running late." Piper added before she rushed out the door after her younger sister.

Andy waved farewell and shut the door behind him.

"I will be right down!" Prue called from upstairs.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Prue walked into Buffy's room and saw Buffy lying on her bed. "Buffy," she said as she sat on the corner of the bed. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Buffy asked.

"You can tell me if there is something wrong, you know that right?" Prue said as she patted Buffy's leg.

"I know," Buffy said with a sigh.

"Here," Prue said as she handed the charm to Buffy. "Phoebe forgot to give it to you."

"Thanks," Buffy said as she forced a smile.

"Why don't you get dressed," Prue suggested. "You can come into work with me today."

"Okay."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Prue came down the stairs to find Andy standing at the base of them. "Sorry it took me so long. Buffy's kind of not been feeling well. So, this must be bad news," she decided, glancing at Andy in a calculating manner.

Andy chuckled softly. "What makes you say that?"

Prue raised her eyebrows and looked toward the clock. "A little early for a social call," she pointed out, moving around him to sit down on the couch.

"You're right," he allowed with a slight nod. Andy followed her to the couch in the living room and sat down in the seat across from her. "We've had three suspicious deaths since midnight. All single female, all under thirty, one was a bookstore owner. Credit card company records show you were her last customer."

Prue's face fell quickly at the news. "Oh my god…" she whispered, her thoughts invariably remembering Tanjella's warning.

Andy's eyes watched her intently. "You remember anything out of the ordinary? Suspicious characters hanging around?" he asked.

Prue looked back up at him, thinking his question through carefully. "No, Buffy, Phoebe and I were the only ones in there. In fact, she was locking up when we left."

"Was the place in order?" Andy questioned.

Prue frowned in confusion. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, when we found her, her body was half-buried in debris, but the coroner said it wasn't her injuries that killed her. It was a heart attack," he explained. His eyes flickered over Prue and there was a hint of worry in his voice as they heard the sounds of footsteps on the stairs.

"A heart attack?" Prue repeated in disbelief as Buffy walked into the room and sat next to her.

"Hi, Buffy," Andy greeted the teenager with a smile. He turned back to Prue. "Anyways, her hair had turned shock white; her face was contorted in terror just like all the others." He paused a moment, watching Buffy and Prue closely. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were literally scared to death." Andy suddenly smiled faintly. "Do you visit Occult book stores at midnight often?"

Prue rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "No, of course not. Phoebe needed a good luck charm for her job interview today. It was very last minute."

Andy studied Prue silently for a moment before slowing standing up to leave. She'd given him all the answers that he'd come for, but he couldn't leave without warning her. "These killings look like some weird ritualistic thing. You might consider shopping somewhere else," he offered softly.

"Meaning?" Buffy prompted, tilting her head to the side.

"Just be careful," Andy whispered, slowly turning away from them and toward the front door.

Quake

"Okay, we need a table for taking the tickets." Piper ordered one of the restaurant's waitresses. The waitress nodded and left Piper in the middle of the room. Piper's brown eyes flickered to look over the cute, blonde guy that also kept shooting glances in her direction. She didn't notice Buffy and Prue come up behind her.

Buffy and Prue looked over Piper's shoulder, following her gaze to land on the handsome young man. "Who's the guy?" Prue suddenly asked causing Piper to jump in surprise.

"Lucas Devane." Piper answered slowly as she turned to face her elder sister. "He's chairing the fundraiser for the children's hospital."

Prue nodded thoughtfully, her eyes flickering back to Lucas. "Mmm, right, I saw his picture in a magazine. Wasn't he named one of the Bay Area's most eligible bachelors?" she teased.

Piper frowned, casting Prue a mock glare. "Don't rub it in," she mumbled.

"Hey, you're the one that's letting a silly superstition run your life." Buffy countered.

"Is he still looking over here?" Piper questioned, resisting the urge to glance over her shoulder for herself.

Prue glanced toward Lucas again to find him staring back at Piper. She smiled and nodded slightly. "Yeah," she decided, linking arms with Piper and Buffy pulling them in the direction of the less crowded room of the restaurant where they could talk of their 'witchy stuff.' "He's undressing you with his mind and he's down to white cotton."

"I haven't worn white cotton since high school," Piper retorted with a roll of her eyes. She suddenly pulled Prue and Buffy to a halt just before they walked under a ladder. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, pulling back and causing Buffy and Prue to stumble slightly. "Humor me," she added before either of them could complain. Prue just rolled her eyes. "Anyways, sorry I had to rush you off the phone. What's with the Demon of Fear?"

"Well, I found a page on him in the Book of Shadows… in Mom's handwriting," Prue explained softly.

"Must have been after mom started copying some of your book into mine but before whatever caused mom and Grams to erase our memories because Aunt Patty wrote all the same information in my book about this demon," Buffy added.

Piper immediately appeared more interested. "Mom's? Are you both sure?" she pressed.

"Yeah, I'm sure. We checked both books against the handwriting on the back of the spirit board," Prue replied, slipping into a seat along the bar while Piper did the same next to her.

"Wow, this is the first time we've found anything Mom's written in either book." Piper commented, frowning thoughtfully at this new revelation.

Prue sighed softly and ran a hand through her hair. "Well, she must have known that this demon would appear in our lifetime and she wanted to warn us against him," she decided with the slightest of shrugs.

Piper's brow furrowed nervously. "I don't like the sound of that…"

"If he can kill 13 unmarried witches before midnight, he will be freed from the underworld to wreak his terror every single day," Prue quoted the book.

"Unmarried. Like being single doesn't have enough problems." Piper ranted with another dramatic roll of her eyes.

"Yeah," agreed Buffy with a sigh.

Prue giggled softly but was cut off by her younger sister's next question. "So, how can we stop him?" Piper demanded.

Prue shrugged again, a little frustrated by the vagueness in the books. "Neither of us knows, but he does kill by turning a witch's greatest fear against her."

"Meaning?" Piper prompted.

"The books don't say, but Mom wrote that in the face of our greatest fear, our powers are paralyzed," Prue continued, a hint of worry in her voice, not just for her and her sisters but for Buffy as well. She glanced at her cousin who's fear was ruling the teenager currently, she was sure of that.

Piper nearly jumped from her seat at the news. "Wait! We're on the most wanted list and we're defenseless?" she exclaimed in disbelief. Prue's expression was answer enough to her question. "Didn't Mom say anything about how to get rid of him?"

Prue shook her head. "Just to release our fear."

Piper rolled her eyes. "How do we do that?" she wondered aloud. Cryptic. She hated cryptic.

"We don't know. That's all she wrote," Buffy explained.

"Look, I know you're afraid of flying…" Prue began.

Piper's eyes widened at the thought and she looked away, biting her lip. "It's not really a fear… I just prefer buses," she mumbled nervously.

Prue smiled faintly. "Well, as long as you stay in a crowded restaurant, you'll be fine. And since Phoebe's afraid of being trapped in an elevator, I'll tell her to take the stairs. And Buffy," she said as she turned toward her cousin. "You will not be going on patrol tonight."

"Good idea," agreed Piper as she looked at her cousin. "We both know what you are afraid of, and it sadly almost came true not too long ago."

"Yeah," Buffy said as she let out a sigh thinking back to when the Master had technically killed her.

"And you'll stay away from pools." Piper said turning back to Prue, a tense silence falling between them. She sighed softly, understanding Prue's reluctance to admit her fear. "Ever since Mom drowned you've been terrified of the water. That's why you never took swimming lessons with us. We've always known that was the reason, its okay."

"Yeah, well, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," Prue insisted, a little sharply as she slid out off the bar stool. "I've gotta go." She explained suddenly, beginning to walk away followed by Buffy.

"Call me when you two get to Bucklands." Piper called after them.

Prue hesitated and slowly turned back to face Piper. "I'm not going to Bucklands. Mom warned us, but there are others." She started nervously. "So I am going to drop Buffy off with Phoebe and then…"

Piper glanced around them to make sure no one was listening before replying. "We don't know any other witches," she pointed out mildly.

"No, see, Tanjella gave me this flier for a Wicca gathering and there's a woman named Zoe listed as a contact. I'm hoping that she can help." Prue continued, holding up the flier that Tanjella had given her the night before. "So, just call Pheebs and tell her what's up, okay?"

Piper looked at her sister and cousin. She debated telling Prue to take Buffy with her, but she understood why Prue was dropping off Buffy with Phoebe. Phoebe was the only one out of the four of them without an active power. "Be careful, okay," she said. "And I want to know everything that's going on. I love you!" she called after her departing sister and cousin.

Buffy and Prue didn't glance over their shoulders. "Yeah," they responded simultaneously, walking under the ladder on the way out of the restaurant.

Piper blinked. Had Buffy started taking after Prue when it came to someone saying 'I love you' to her? She let out a sigh, it appeared that whatever was wrong with Buffy was worse than any of them knew.

SWA Properties

"As you can see, we're a small firm but we've built a very successful business." The young woman conducting the interview, Susan, was saying. Phoebe sat in the chair across from the desk with Susan behind it.

Phoebe smiled and tightened her grip on her good-luck charm, willing it to help her. "Oh, well, size doesn't matter to me. What does excite me, though, is the chance to work with a successful woman. I mean, if I want to be a success, who better to learn from, right?"

Susan laughed, fixing Phoebe with an interested look. "Oh, I like that." She looked down at the papers in front of her for a moment. "I've heard all I need to hear. When can you start?" She asked eagerly as the door leading outside opened and Buffy stepped inside. "We'll be with you in a minute, Miss."

"That's alright," Buffy answered. "I'm Phoebe's cousin. I was dropped off by Phoebe's sister, Prue. I'm supposed to hang out with Phoebe till Prue swings back by after her errands."

"Alright," said Susan as she smiled at the teen. She turned back to Phoebe. "Well?"

"Are you serious? I got the job?" Phoebe demanded enthusiastically and a little surprised.

Susan shrugged slightly. "I can spot talent when I see it," she replied, appearing thoughtful. "Can you start today?"

Phoebe nodded quickly, hardly believing her luck. Damn good charm. "Uh, yeah, yes, of course," she stammered. "That is if you don't mind…"

"Not in the slightest," Susan said as she again smiled at Buffy. "In fact how old are you?"

"Sixteen," answered Buffy.

"I am only offering this because you are Phoebe's cousin. But if you like I will hire you on a trial basis at least for today. That way you aren't bored while you wait," Susan offered.

Phoebe looked at Buffy and smiled at her cousin. She nodded letting Buffy know it was her call.

"Sure," Buffy answered.

Susan started to say something but trailed off as a man walked in, motioning for her. "Hi, honey, give me a second," she greeted, giving him a hold-on-a-minute gesture. The man nodded and walked back out leaving the three of them in the office. Susan hesitated a moment before reaching for the keys that were in front of her and passing them to Phoebe. "Here are the keys, Louise is out of town, I've got…" She stopped with a pointed glance toward the door that the man had just left through. "… I'll be in Calistoga for the rest of the day, so all you both have to do is answer the phones."

"Taking a romantic mid-week break?" Phoebe teased lightly.

Susan suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, yeah," she allowed, leaning forward to Buffy and Phoebe slightly and lowering her voice. "Um, which reminds me, there is one special task I'll need you two to handle from time to time. If my husband calls, I'll need you both to cover for me."

Buffy and Phoebe glanced at each other and then back at Susan as their eyes widened in understanding. They both laughed nervously. "Oh, right, uh, sure…" Phoebe offered uncertainly.

"Our little secret?" Susan pressed.

Buffy offered a fake smile. "Oh, of course!"

"Well, Phoebe, you have my pager number. Both of you have fun," Susan continued, standing up from behind the desk. She quickly walked around Buffy and Phoebe and toward the door.

"Okay." Buffy and Phoebe replied with forced enthusiasm. They turned as they heard the door close, leaving them alone in the office.

"We're not really going to lie to her husband are we?" Buffy asked turning to look at Phoebe.

Phoebe sighed. "I don't know," she said as she turned and looked at Buffy. "What's the real reason you are here?"

"Protection mostly," Buffy sighed. "You are after all the only one out of the four of us without an activate power. Tanjella is dead by Prue believes the demon of fear. The errand Prue is on is to try and warn the other witches that frequent Tanjella's store. We are also supposed to stay away from things we fear. For me that's easy. I don't go on patrol tonight so I don't come face to face with a vampire that could kill me."

"For me that means not entering any elevators," Phoebe said with a sigh.

Zoe's Apartment

Prue reached the receptionist desk. She quickly signed her name on the visitor's sign-in log while she explained who she was looking for.

"Room 412." The receptionist replied, handing her stickers with the lone word, 'visitor.'

Prue nodded a thank you and she hastened toward the elevator that would take her to the floor Zoe lived on.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Zoe stood in her room in front of a table where she was carefully trimming one of her plants. She felt a light breeze and heard a faint swoosh and she paused in her work. After a moment she sat her scissors down on the table and slowly turned around. Her eyes held no surprise as she looked over Barbas, the Demon of Fear. "I thought you might come," she commented with a half smile. "There is nothing for you here."

"Oh, you couldn't be more wrong, witch. You're all alone. That is all I need," the Demon of Fear retorted from where he stood just in front of the door to her apartment.

Zoe smiled and took several confident steps toward him. "You have no power over me. I have evolved to a place where I have released all mortal fears," she returned. She watched as Barbas turned his attention to his hand before continuing. "My inner strength will destroy you," she warned, a dangerous edge to her voice.

Barbas didn't answer, but watched his hand as he slowly waved it over her. His dark eyes looked around her to the candle that stood behind Zoe on the table. The candle flashed and the small flame shot up and hit the floor, quickly catching the carpet on fire.

Zoe jumped and tried to stomp the flame out but it only grew worse.

"You didn't release your fear of fire. You only repressed it," Barbas finally answered. The flames spread in a circle around her, encircling her in fire that rivaled her height.

She gasped in fear and tried to back away only to find the flames behind her as well. "No, please!" Zoe pleaded.

Barbas raised his arms, reveling in her fear. "Save it! For another lifetime! You are frozen… In Fear!"

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"412," Prue said as she stopped just in front of the door to Zoe's apartment. She turned to the door and knocked. "Hello?"

A scream sounded through the door and Prue narrowed her eyes and it swung open. She stepped over the threshold immediately on the alert but she halted as her eyes caught sight of Zoe. Zoe's lifeless body lay on the floor, her hair white and eyes wide with fear. A circle of burnt carpet was around her and smoke filled the entire room. She dialed 911 on her phone and called in the murder before hastily leaving before the police could arrive.

Quake

Prue met Buffy, Phoebe and Piper at Quake where Piper had saved the four of them a table upon receiving the most recent update on their current demon predicament. Prue was unusually silent as she relived seeing Zoe's lifeless body.

Finally, Piper rolled her eyes and decided they needed to figure something out before the Demon of Fear came looking for them. "So what did you tell Andy?" she asked nervously.

"I didn't talk to Andy. I didn't want him to know I was anywhere near there so I called 911 and left," Prue explained, picking at her nearly full plate of food with her fork.

Phoebe's eyes were narrowed in concern and reached out hesitantly to her eldest sister, whom appeared to be taking it hard. "Are you sure you're okay?" she pressed sympathetically.

Prue sighed, dropped her fork on her plate, and nodded slightly to Phoebe. "Yeah, it's just, uh, I can't get her face out of my mind, you know? There was so much fear and her hair was pure white… the terror she must have it felt. It's just…"

"Stop it!" Piper interrupted her, rubbing the sides of her head as she felt a serious migraine coming on. Prue obediently trailed off.

Phoebe was nodding vigorously in agreement. "I'm scared enough, thank you," she added dramatically with wide brown eyes.

"So what are we going to do?" Buffy demanded, leaning forward slightly for a bit more 'privacy.'

"We avoid any place he can use to terrorize us." Piper replied confidently. "Or in your case, Buffy, a certain time of day as well as place."

"And what about all the other witches?" Phoebe wondered with a slight frown as Piper's plan clearly left out a huge chunk of San Francisco.

Prue glanced up thoughtfully. "Well, I took Zoe's day runner. Some of the names in there have got to be witches. I can start making phone calls," she suggested. She reached across the table for the salt which she accidently knocked over. She sighed softly, having to reach farther for the salt shaker.

Piper nearly jumped from her seat with wide brown eyes. "Quick! Throw some over your shoulder!" she ordered in mild hysteria.

Prue stared at Piper in disbelief for several moments. "Don't be ridiculous."

"It's bad luck. You could be attacked by evil spirits," Piper argued, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest.

Prue rolled her eyes and quickly shook some salt over her food before turning her attention back to her younger sister. "Piper, we have been attacked by plenty of evil spirits and they had nothing to do with salt. And considering our powers. I can't believe you want to rely on this for our protection," she told her middle sister as Buffy nodded in agreement.

"My feeling is you can never be too rich or too safe," Piper retorted.

The two elder Halliwells were broken from their sisterly banter by an Phoebe who was pointing excitedly at the decorative plant on the table in front of them. "Oh, a lady bug!" she grinned, gingerly reaching out for one of the leaves to better show the lady bug to her sisters.

"Is that bad luck?" Prue quipped with a pointed glance in Piper's direction.

Piper started to say something but was interrupted by Phoebe.

"Actually, Grams once told me that whatever direction it flies in, you can find your ideal mate." Phoebe explained, suddenly looking excited. She straightened up in her seat, moving closer to the plant. "We've gotta try it," she decided, flicking the leaf with her finger.

The lady bug, dissatisfied with its new moving company flew away from the leaf and the table to land on Lucas' shoulder.

"Oh!" Piper gasped, quickly looking away before Lucas could see her staring.

Prue grinned, her eyes flickering suggestively from Lucas to Piper and back again. "So, does a positive superstition cancel out a negative one?" she asked teasingly.

Piper rolled her eyes and lightly slapped Prue on the arm. "I don't know," she snapped, sending a glare.

"Huh?" Phoebe questioned, staring in confusion from Prue, Piper, and Lucas.

Prue turned slightly away from Piper to face Phoebe. "That guy has been trying to talk to Piper all day and she has been avoiding him because she just…."

A waiter started to walk by their table, but tripped and sent a wave of ice cold water over Prue who immediately quit ranting and half-jumped away from him.

Piper yelped in surprise but was up and carefully grabbed some napkins to soak up some of the excess water. "You should have thrown the salt…" Piper started.

"You know what, Piper? Don't even say it," Prue ordered, hastily standing up from her seat. "I'm going home to change," she muttered in irritation before stalking off toward the front door.

"Be careful, I love you!" Phoebe called after her.

"Ditto," Buffy called out as Phoebe glanced at her.

Prue glanced over her shoulder and gave Phoebe a quick wave. "Yeah."

Phoebe frowned and crossed her arms as Piper slowly slipped back into her seat. "Buffy, is something wrong?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked.

Phoebe looked over at her middle sister. "Tell me you noticed it also."

"Yeah," Piper said with a sigh. "Buffy, have you noticed you are not telling anyone that you love them? That you've started to act like Prue in that regard?"

"So?" Buffy said with a shrug as she stood up. "I'm going to the restroom. Then I will be ready to head back to work, Phoebe." She turned and walked away from them heading for the restroom.

"I think Buffy along with Prue are afraid it'll make them look too vulnerable. For Prue, ever since Mom died, you know, she has to be the strong one to take care of us and everything. It's probably just all part of that." Piper said with a shrug. "For Buffy it boils down to the night she faced the Master. I think Buffy is now afraid of letting us in."

"Afraid that if she does and we lose her," Phoebe said in understanding. "Yeah I was thinking the same thing. I don't know how we fix Prue of her problem. But I do know we have to do something for Buffy."

"Agreed," Piper sighed. "The question is what?"

"I don't know," Phoebe answered getting to her feet as Buffy returned. "So, we got to get back to work."

"How's the new job?" Piper wondered curiously.

Buffy and Phoebe glanced at each other as they grabbed their jackets. "Great… except our boss wants us to lie to her husband about an affair that she's been having," Phoebe explained with false enthusiasm.

"Us?" Piper said clearly confused.

"I told Susan I was hanging out with Phoebe after Prue dropped me off . I told her that I was going to be staying with Phoebe till Prue returned from doing errands. So she hired me mainly for today," answered Buffy. "So I wouldn't be twiddling my thumbs all day with nothing to do."

"Ah," said Piper as she smiled at her consin. "So what are you two gonna do?"

Phoebe shrugged at a loss. "Buffy asked me that earlier. And I still don't know. I think I speak for myself and Buffy that we just hope it never comes up," she answered as Buffy nodded in agreement. She smiled slightly at catching sight of Lucas staring in their direction. "Hey, good luck," she added with a pointed nod in his direction.

With a last wave at Piper, Buffy and Phoebe left her at the table alone. She started to clean up the table when Lucas stopped next to her. She hesitantly glanced up at him and smiled politely.

"How's it going?" Lucas asked, leaning against the chair that Prue had previously occupied.

"Oh, good," Piper allowed, looking back down at the plates to avoid eye contact.

Lucas hesitated a split moment before continuing. "Listen, um, we've been working so well together on this fundraiser, I was, uh, wondering if you wanted to get dinner after it's over," he suggested hopefully.

Piper bit her lip and inwardly cursed at her situation. "Uh, I should probably… I should probably check my schedule," she fumbled for the excuse.

Lucas' face fell slightly in disappointment. "You don't know if you're free tonight?"

"Well, um…" Piper started, but caught sight of the lady bug still on his shoulder. She sighed and smiled a bit wider. "Um, dinner would be great."

Lucas nodded, obviously a little surprised. "Great," he decided, slowly turning away until later.

SWA Properties

Buffy and Phoebe each sat at a desk, watching as another worker retrieved his papers that had just come out of the printer next to Phoebe. Phoebe waited until he had disappeared into the next room before turning her attention to her good-luck charm that she held in her hand.

"Okay, heads—We tell him the truth. Tails—We lie," Phoebe decided softly. She tossed the coin into the air. As it came back down it rolled off the desk to land on a filing cabinet in front of the desk. "Oh, that helped a lot," she muttered sarcastically as she saw it had landed on its edge, neither heads nor tails.

"Pheobe," Buffy said with a sigh as she shook her head. Just at that moment the phone on Buffy's phone rang. She reached over as her elbow knocked over a bottle of water that was sitting next to the phone. "Hold on, please," she told the person on the other line while hastily sitting the phone down. As she picked up the bottle she was thrown into a premonition.

Prue was fighting to get out of the shower while the water filled higher and higher to the point that it was well over her head.

"Buffy?" Phoebe said having recognized the signs of the premonition.

Buffy held her hand up as she quickly explained to the person on the phone that the office was temporarily closed for lunch and to call back in an hour. As soon as she hung up the phone she looked at Phoebe. "Prue…" she said with a slight tone of worry in her voice. "I saw Prue drowning in the shower."

"The demon of fear," said Phoebe as she grabbed the phone and dialed.

Halliwell Manor

Prue turned the water to the shower on and stepped inside. Over the noise of the falling water she didn't hear the phone downstairs ring. The answering machine clicked on and Phoebe's voice filled the Foyer.

"Prue, its Phoebe. Are you there? Pick up? Hello? Prue, Buffy just had a premonition. You could be in trouble. Are you there? Prue, are you there?"

Barbas smoked into the Foyer in time to catch the message. His eyes flickered to the answering machine where the caller ID was shown. He waved his hand over it and 'SWA Properties' disappeared. Barbas slowly turned toward the stairs that would lead him to the eldest Charmed One.

SWA Properties

Phoebe slammed the phone down and grabbed at her jacket and car keys. "Come on," she said as she looked at Buffy. "We need to get back to the house."

Halliwell Manor

Barbas stepped through the closed door of the bathroom. Prue, her eyes closed against the water, didn't notice him as he waved his hand over her. He glanced at Prue thoughtfully. Prue slowly opened her eyes, shielding them with her hand. She immediately noticed the presence of Barbas and just as quickly deduced who he was. She gasped and jumped as far back away from him as the shower would allow.

"Your greatest fear is drowning. Thank you for making it so easy," the Demon of Fear took a step forward and closed his eyes expectantly.

The water in the shower began to rise quickly and Prue looked down at it in dismay.

Barbas saw the first signs of fear in Prue's widened eyes and she paled visibly. "That's right… Give me your fear."

Prue stepped through the water that filled the bottom of the shower to the door and tried to pull it open. She panicked when it didn't move and desperately hit the glass trying to force her way through it while the water rose quickly around her. As the water reached her shoulders she turned the water off in a vain attempt to stop it from rising. With the water still rising to her neck she turned back to the door and narrowed her eyes at it. No blast of telekinesis hit the door and she tried again receiving another failed attempt.

Barbas smiled and reveled in her growing fear. "You powers are frozen by your fear," he explained.

Prue, now struggling to keep her head above the water level, turned to the small shelves that held her shampoos and soaps. Knocking them off she grabbed the top shelf and tried to pull herself higher, only to slip and fall under the water completely.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Andy and Darryl walked up to the threshold of the Manor and Andy pressed the doorbell. When no one came to the door, he looked back and saw Prue's car was in the driveway. Which meant Prue was home so he pressed the doorbell again.

Darryl rolled his eyes at his partner's impatience. "Give the girl some time to get over here. She could be upstairs," he offered. There was a hint of a tease in his voice that was directed to Andy's obvious overprotective impatience.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Barbas opened his eyes as the doorbell rang through the house. His eyes flashed in frustration as it sounded a second time. This was the second witch he was going to lose.

Prue finally relocated the shelves in the water and pulled herself back up. Now, even with the extra boost, she could barely keep her head above the water. She let out a terrified scream as she realized she had nowhere else to go.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The scream drifted out of the house where Andy and Darryl immediately responded. Darryl stepped back and pulled out his gun. Andy quickly kicked the door open and slipped inside first, pulling his gun out and heading toward the stairs. They took off in the direction of the scream.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Prue heard her name being called and she opened her mouth to scream for help when her hand slipped and she fell deeper into the water. She caught a blurred sight of Barbas smoking out. She heard the door slam against the wall as it was kicked in and Andy and Darryl ran in, their guns pointed.

"Prue?" Andy repeated her name, his voice a mixture of worry and confusion.

Prue suddenly realized the water was gone and she leaned heavily against the side of the shower to catch her breath.

Darryl motioned to Andy that he was going to wait downstairs and disappeared out the door.

"You okay?" Andy asked, still scouring the area for anything only to find, to his frustration, more of nothing.

Prue grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself as she fumbled for something to tell Andy. "I… don't know," she admitted, fiercely rubbing the silent tears away from her eyes.

Andy sighed softly. "I'll wait for you downstairs," he decided. He cast one more worried look over Prue before walking out and closing the door to the bathroom behind him.

Prue stepped out of the shower but froze as water spilled out of the shower as if it had been filled and not empty as everyone saw it. She watched the water flow out and her vision blurred as she suddenly felt weak.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"So what were you screaming about?" Andy questioned, disbelief evident in his tone as he asked the question again. He paced by the couch that Prue was currently sitting on without glancing in her direction.

Prue carefully avoided the eyes of the two cops. She had regained the majority of her composure though she was still a little paler than normal and she clearly would rather not be having this conversation. "I told you I had soap in my eyes," she repeated her answer a second time, completely aware of how ridiculous it sounded.

Andy chanced a glance at her as he turned back around to continue in the other direction. "You had soap in your eyes? That's why you were screaming?"

"Yes," Prue answered, a hint of defiance in her voice.

"Would you like to tell us what you were doing at that woman's apartment?" Darryl spoke up for the first time.

Prue swallowed uncomfortably before answering. "I was, um…" she hesitated a split moment. "Zoe was a collector of Occult items and she wanted to know if the auction house was interested in selling them for her," she fabricated.

Darryl nodded slightly and wrote her answer down on his notepad. "When you got there, was Zoe alive or already dead?"

"Dead," Prue replied softly.

Andy and Darryl exchanged a look of surprise and Andy stepped forward again. "So, you called 911? Why didn't you leave your name? Why did you just duck out?" he demanded, more curious now.

A hint of frustration flashed through Prue's eyes as if she thought the answer to that should have been obvious. "Because I wanted to avoid this," she responded, speaking pointedly about their conversation. "I knew you would suspect me of being involved and I'm not."

"Prue, don't you think it's a little coincidental you being a step ahead of death twice in one day…" Andy started but was abruptly cut off by Prue who had jumped up defiantly.

"What exactly are you implying?" Prue snapped, crossing her arms to emphasize her stance.

Andy didn't appear fazed. "Prue, if you were in my shoes, what would you think?"

Prue's eyes invariably flickered to Andy's shoes, which stood out against his clean cut pants. "First of all, nobody should be in those shoes…" she retorted with an almost teasing look of disgust.

"Told you," Darryl muttered under his breath, receiving an exasperated look from Andy.

"… But if I were I would never suspect you of having anything to do with these deaths," Prue finished.

Andy advanced a few steps toward her, his eyes narrowed in his own frustration. "Prue, five women have been scared to death since midnight… Then we show up here, hear you screaming, break in, and find you terrified in the shower…"

"I told you I had soap in my eyes," Prue returned sharply.

"That wasn't pain on your face, that was fear," Andy retorted.

Prue fell silent unable to deny his accusation. She silently cursed that he knew her so well.

"I know you didn't have soap in your eyes so if you don't want to tell me the truth, fine, but don't lie to me," Andy told her.

Prue sighed and looked away from his penetrating gaze. Why did this have to make her feel so damn guilty? "Andy…" she started and then hesitated, biting her lip slightly. "Andy, you can't help me," she replied softly.

Andy appeared surprised, not expecting such a straightforward answer from her. Then confused as he registered what she was saying. "Try me," he challenged just as softly. He watched her hopefully as Prue hesitated again, but her eyes were determined. She opened her mouth to elaborate when the front door slammed into the wall as Buffy and Phoebe stormed into the house. Or Buffy stormed, Phoebe followed with wide eyes. Prue jumped at the sound and looked away from Andy, who appeared annoyed by the interruption. It was obvious Prue wasn't going to say anything now. He could have punched the wall in frustration. He'd been so close to figuring something out…

Buffy stalked through the Foyer, scouring all the rooms that she passed, even the closets as if she thought Prue would be hiding. "Prue!" she called out, anger clearly in her voice. If Prue had to guess she would have guessed that the Slayer side of Buffy was in full control of her cousin. "Where are you?"

"Hi, Andy!" Phoebe greeted loudly and with false enthusiasm as she and Buffy round the corner into the room where Andy, Darryl and Prue were. "Hey, Darryl!"

"Hi," Andy and Darryl returned with much less enthusiasm.

Buffy had suddenly broken off upon hearing Phoebe's greeting. As Prue watched Buffy's shoulders slumped with relief. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Prue nodded slightly, tearing her gaze from Andy. "Yeah, everything's fine. So, are we done?" she wondered, glancing toward Darryl.

"Yeah, we're done," Darryl allowed, heading for the front door.

Andy watched Prue for a few more moments, but she carefully avoided his eyes. He finally gave up and followed after his partner.

They didn't resume their conversation until they had heard the front door shut behind Andy.

"You would not believe what happened to me," Prue said as she looked up at her cousin and sister.

"Oh yes we would," Buffy said with a sigh. "I saw it."

Prue slowly left her place on the couch and pulled Buffy into a tight hug.

"I think we need to check the book again," Phoebe offered, earning two nods of agreement. Very slowly the three of them made their way upstairs, Buffy still holding onto Prue as if her eldest cousin would disappear if she let go.

Phoebe led the way into the attic with Buffy and Prue trailing a couple of steps behind. "There has got to be something in the book about releasing fears. Maybe it's just not obvious," she insisted as she moved to the books.

Prue hesitated just inside the attic. Her eyes flickered curiously around the attic as Buffy watched her. "Do you guys smell that?" she asked.

"What?" Phoebe wondered distractedly as she flipped the pages in the Charmed Ones' book to the Demon of Fear/Friday the 13th page.

"It's like Sandalwood."

Buffy took a moment to inhale the air. "No, I don't smell anything," she replied.

"Me either," Phoebe added.

Prue frowned and looked around the attic again. "Mom used to wear a fragrance like that," she mumbled.

Buffy blinked as she remembered that her mom had a bottle of that particular fragrance on her vanity. "That must be the reason mom had a bottle with that fragrance on her vanity. Mom never wore it herself. But she always kept a bottle there. I wonder if it had been meant for Aunt Patty and she had never gotten the chance to give it to her?"

"It's possible, Buffy," Prue said as she smiled at her cousin. "Now that I think about it things started to get strained between Aunt Joyce and Grams not long after mom passed away. And we know now that things didn't come to a blow till you were six, eight years after mom's death when our memories were erased. Since that is the age you were in the picture you gave me for my birthday."

Phoebe stopped their conversation short. "Wait, I thought you guys said there was nothing in here about releasing your fears…" she started, glancing up at them.

Buffy and Prue exchanged a look of confusion. "There isn't," Buffy stated as she moved toward her book and flipped through it to the Demon of Fear/Friday the 13th page. Prue moved next to her sister and looked at the Charmed Ones book.

"Prue has yours been changed also?" Buffy asked as she saw the addition to the page. "To let go of your fear, trust in the greatest of all powers," she read straight from her book.

"Yeah it's in ours also," Prue said. "And it wasn't there this morning."

Phoebe bit her lip slightly. "Well, maybe because all of the stress you've both been under…"

"No, Phoebe, it wasn't there," Buffy insisted.

Prue moved over next to Buffy to confirm what she was sure she already knew. She nodded as she looked at Buffy's book before turning toward Phoebe. "They're both in Mom's handwriting. I would have remembered if they had been there earlier."

Phoebe shook her head. Buffy, appearing thoughtful at the newest line in the books, spoke up. "The greatest of all powers? What is that?" she wondered. "Is it the Power of Three? Us together? One of us alone?"

All eyes turned to Prue, who obviously wasn't paying attention again.

"Prue? What is it?" Phoebe questioned, tilting her head to the side.

Prue slowly turned back to look at them. "It's like I can feel her presence."

Buffy closed her eyes wishing she could feel anyone's presence. After all her spidey senses had detected Rex when he had astral projected into the Manor. She let out a sigh. "I can feel nothing. Maybe it's because she not my mom," she said with a shrug.

Phoebe looked at Prue with concern. "Uh, maybe you should get dressed and go to Bucklands," she suggested, carefully closing the Charmed Ones' book.

"No, I don't really think I'm up to that." Prue argued softly with a slight shake of her head.

"Look, Prue," Phoebe pleaded with her elder sister. "You said he disappeared once Andy got there. So maybe he only attacks when you're alone. When your fear is greatest."

"Plus there are no showers or pools at Bucklands," Buffy added.

"Yeah, you're both right," Prue grudgingly admitted.

"Of course we are. Now stay away from water, any water, don't even drink it," Phoebe ordered.

"Don't worry." Prue agreed, absentmindedly running her fingers through the stretch of hair that had turned white.

"I think it's getting darker," Phoebe offered cheerfully.

Prue smiled gratefully at her little sister. She couldn't tell if Phoebe was just saying it to make her feel better or not but either way it worked. "Thanks, I guess I'll go now," she decided, taking her time with walking out the attic door.

Phoebe watched her for a moment but as Prue reached the door she couldn't resist from calling after her. "I love you."

"Me too." Prue answered.

"How come you do that?" Phoebe asked, stopping Prue in her tracks.

Prue turned around to face Phoebe and Buffy with a confused expression. "Do what?"

"You never say 'I love you' to me," Phoebe explained.

"Or me," Buffy added.

"I just did," Prue pointed out, her look of confusion deepening.

"No, you just said 'me too,' Buffy explained.

"And you never say it to Piper either. Have you ever said 'I love you' to anybody?" Phoebe wondered curiously.

Prue hesitated a moment and avoided Buffy and Phoebe's gaze before slowly meeting it again. "Yeah, I said it to Mom. It was the last thing I said to her before she died," she admitted softly.

Buffy looked between her cousins and she realized why she had started taking after Prue in the regards to the 'I love you' statement. "I was beginning to feel the same way, wasn't I?" she asked. "I was beginning to become afraid after what the Master did. That if I said it…"

"That it would be the last thing you would say to either of us or Piper," said Phoebe as she nodded. She immediately stepped forward and pulled both her eldest sister and her cousin into a tight and comforting embrace.

Quake

Piper leaned against the bar with the phone to her ear as she called the grocer that was supposed to be bringing in a shipment of clams that had yet to arrive. They were already two hours late and were needed.

"The shipment was supposed to be here two hours ago. Is it even on its way yet?" Piper demanded. She fell silent as the person on the other end assured her that they should be there within the hour. "Thanks," she replied shortly and hung up before they could answer.

Piper turned her attention to the cash register as one of the waitresses brought over a bill folder. She placed the charge, handed it back to the waitress, and proceeded to close the cash register when the end of her nail got caught. She yelped and jumped back as her nail broke painfully.

Piper reached under the bar and pulled out the first aid kit. She pulled out a bandaid and wrapped it gingerly around her finger. She put the first aid kid back under the bar. And when she stood back up her eyes landed on Lucas and she abruptly turned away.

Piper turned and was about to walk away when she stopped suddenly. There in front of her was one of the waitresses dressed in a black cat outfit and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "Oh, uh, do me a favor and walk behind me so you don't cross my path," she ordered lightly, carefully maneuvering the surprised waitress around her.

The waitress nodded in understanding. "Okay," she agreed, her eyes light with amusement. She turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Piper called after her. She kneeled down to pick up the waitresses 'tail.' Her skirt ripped and she took several moments to control her rising frustration with the day. "You dropped your tail," she explained, offering it to the waitress, who gratefully took it.

Piper pushed her way into the kitchen while trying to fix her skirt where the rip was visible. She she went to her box of good-luck charms and pulled out a note card with a spell she had made up.

"Are you okay?" The waiter, Doug, asked her curiously, recognizing her edginess.

Piper jumped in surprise and quickly dropped the note card to her side so he couldn't read it. "Uh, me?"

Doug nodded, watching her curiously. "Yeah, you just seem kind of… I don't know… tense," he remarked with a shrug.

Piper sighed and allowed herself to let out a little of her frustration since he had asked. "Well, it just seems that since I've agreed to have dinner with Lucas I've had a run of bad luck. I broke a nail, the shipment of clams is late, I had to fire a hostess, and I just ripped my skirt," she ranted.

SWA Properties

Buffy and Phoebe sat at their desks, absentmindedly flipping through some papers. They glanced up when they heard the door open and a man walked in. "Hi, may we help you?" Phoebe asked professionally and cheerfully at the same time.

The man continued looking around him for several moments before turning to Phoebe. "Hi, I was looking for Susan," he explained.

"Oh, she's not here right now, but we can tell her you came by," Buffy offered, reaching out for the notepad and a pen. "What's your name?"

"Richard Warner," he answered with a half-smile.

Buffy and Phoebe glanced at each other with their eyes widening ever-so-slightly as they recognized his last name. "Oh, you're Susan's husband." Phoebe said nervously.

He laughed softly. "Unless she's got one I don't know about," Richard joked.

Buffy and Phoebe forced a laugh and carefully avoided his eyes. "No, no, you can't have another husband," Phoebe laughed awkwardly.

Richard nodded and again looked around the room as if he expected to see Susan around. "I thought I'd surprise her and take her to dinner. Do either of you know where she is?" he wondered.

"Yes… she… went out," Phoebe answered cryptically noticing that Buffy had clammed up. She understood why. Buffy didn't want to get in the middle of it. Which left her potentially having to decide whether or not to lie to the man.

"Okay, well, I think we've established that," Richard chuckled softly. "Do you know where?"

Phoebe played with her hands nervously trying to decide what she was going to say. "Uh, well, she… it's actually very interesting… she, uh…" she stammered before slamming her pen down on the desk in her frustration. "I can't do this," she decided, standing up from her seat.

Buffy let out a sigh of relief as she too stood up. "That goes double for me," she added.

"I don't understand." Richard admitted, watching both Buffy and Phoebe with eyes narrowed in curiosity.

"Don't worry about the office. We will lock up," Phoebe assured him as she picked up the pad and pen. She was going to write a note to Susan that she and Buffy had quit. "Susan," she started, writing the name down on the pad. She was broken from her thoughts by Richard.

Richard had taken a step forward and there wasn't a hint of confusion in his eyes as would have been expected. "Thank you," he appreciated.

Phoebe stopped thinking about the note. She and Buffy glanced over at Richard in confusion. "For what?" Buffy asked.

"For not lying to me about Susan's affair," he explained.

Phoebe sighed and looked at him sympathetically. "You knew?"

Richard shrugged and looked away from Buffy and Phoebe. "I've tried denying it for some time now, but I guess there comes a time when you have to face the truth."

"I think I speak for Phoebe and I that we're so sorry," Buffy offered sadly.

"Don't be and listen, neither of you quit on my behalf," Richard pleaded.

Phoebe and Buffy smiled gratefully but shook their heads. "We're not," Phoebe assured him.

He smiled once more before turning away and leaving Buffy and Phoebe alone in the office. They watched him leave and only turned away from the door when the phone rang.

Slowly Buffy reached out for it. "SWA properties," she answered.

A woman's voice answered her on the other end of the phone. "Hello, may I speak to Susan?"

"Uh, no, she's not in right now. Can I take a message?" Buffy offered, glancing down at the pen and pad she had set down.

The woman's answering voice sounded irritated. "This is Mrs. Joffee. I'm outside a house Susan's supposed to show me and she's not here," she ranted.

Buffy hesitated a moment. "Uh, well, I'm sorry, but she must have forgotten. She's out for the rest of the day," she informed her sympathetically.

"Can anybody help me? I flew in from L.A. just to see this house. I'm under a terrible deadline to move from my other house," Mrs. Joffee pleaded.

"Uh, no one's here…" Buffy started and then trailed off as she had an idea. "Uhm hold on just a second." She put the call on hold then turned to Phoebe. "This lady flew in from L.A.," she explained to Phoebe. "She had an appointment to see a house. Do you think as our last official act…"

"We could show it to her," Phoebe said as she nodded. "I think we can do that."

Buffy nodded as she took the phone off hold. "Hello, Mrs. Joffee. Since you flew in, I guess I and my fellow assistant can show you the property. What's the address?"

3112 Napa Street

Buffy and Phoebe walked up to the large and obviously expensive house looking around for Mrs. Joffee. Upon not seeing her in the front they decided that Mrs. Joffee might have taken it upon herself to walk around the house and get a feel for the yard.

Phoebe pushed the gate to the back of the house and the pool open. "Mrs. Joffee?" she called loudly as she and Buffy continued their way through the yard.

"Mrs. Joffee? SWA Properties," Buffy tried.

"Hello, dears." Mrs. Joffee's voice turned Phoebe and Buffy to their left. Their eyes widened when they saw not Mrs. Joffee but Barbas. "Thanks so much for coming out." Barbas finished, his voice transforming from Mrs. Joffee's into his own halfway through.

Buffy and Phoebe immediately turned away in an attempt to leave but Barbas grabbed their arms and tightly prevented them from running off. "Let go or we'll scream," Phoebe threatened, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

Barbas smiled, appearing as if he would not object to the plan. "Go ahead, I could use the fix," he allowed. Barbas held them still long enough to use his power to read them. While he preferred the wave of his hand, he in reality didn't need it.

"We know how you kill. There are no elevators around here," Phoebe snapped defiantly.

Barbas resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the 'far-off fear' of the third Halliwell sister. "Elevators? You think that's what your greatest fear is? You mortals need to look deeper." He scoffed. "Where the real truth lies, your greatest fear is losing a sister or a cousin and I get two for one."

He turned toward Buffy and smirked at her. While she had a juicy deep seated fear of dying, there were others even more juicier. "Oh how wonderful so many deep seated fears," he said. "Death by vampire, particularly the Master is one such fear. Waking up as a vampire is another." He could see held an even deeper seated fear, one that trumped the others. "But there is a far better fear. Losing a cousin. And I get three for one."

Bucklands Auction House

"He's only a threat until midnight," Prue assured Piper on the other end of the phone. There was a pause as Piper replied and Prue leaned back in her chair behind her desk. "Alright, well take care, and don't look into any closets until then," she trailed off as her phone began beeping, announcing that someone else was calling her. "Okay, look, I gotta go, somebody's calling me. Bye," She pressed the 'next line' button. "Hello?"

"Prue, its Phoebe. Buffy and I got stuck at a house we were showing. Can you come and get us?" Phoebe's voice carried through the line.

"Yeah, sure. Where are you?" Prue agreed, reaching for a piece of paper and a pen to write the address down.

"We're at 3112 Napa Street," Phoebe answered.

"Alright, I'm on my way," Prue replied, hanging up the phone and grabbing her stuff together.

3112 Napa Street

Barbas hung up the phone, obviously having been imitating Phoebe's voice to lure Prue out here. He glanced back at where he'd left Buffy and Phoebe, bound and gagged, on the bench near the pool.

Quake

"I can't remember when I've enjoyed a dinner more. I'm so glad you suggested this," Piper remarked. She sat across from Lucas at one of the 'couple' tables of the restaurant, their just-finished desserts sitting to the side.

Lucas appeared thoughtful at the comment. "You know, I almost didn't," he admitted, though his voice portrayed that he was glad he had.

Piper tilted her head to side curiously. "Really?" she prompted hopefully.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sensitive to people's feelings and I got the sense this morning that you were totally turned off to me," Lucas explained.

"How odd," Piper commented, thinking his explanation over carefully. "So what's it like being one of the city's most eligible bachelors?" she decided to ask instead of pursuing the former topic. Piper was still a little suspicious. Everything seemed perfect which usually meant it wasn't.

Lucas laughed at the memory of the title. "That magazine article was so lame. I'm, uh, really a very simple guy. I value home and hearth, I'd like to settle down, have kids. I have two nieces I'm crazy about. I even carry pictures of them," he laughed softly, self-conscious about how he sounded.

Piper listened to him with a smile but as soon as he finished she threw her hand out, freezing him and the rest of the room. "You sound too good to be true," she decided. Carefully leaning forward she reached into his inside jacket pockets and pulled out his wallet. Piper flipped it open and flipped through his pictures until he found them. At least she assumed it was them as there was a small piece of paper next to it that read 'I love Uncle Lucas.' "You are too good to be true," she realized. She smiled softly and leaned back forward to put his wallet back. He unfroze just as she dropped his wallet back in and he looked at her in confusion. "Lint," she lied quickly. "You had a little lint."

"Oh, thanks," Lucas appreciated.

"So your instinct about me this morning was right. I was kinda sending out negative vibes," she admitted, deciding now was as good a time as any to open up.

"Why?" Lucas asked curiously.

Piper hesitated for a second before explaining. "Well, there's this superstition that any relationship started on Friday the 13th is doomed so I was determined to avoid you but then there's this other superstition about finding your ideal mate…"

"Wait a minute," Lucas interrupted, trying to keep up with her. "You were gonna reject me because of a superstition but then decided that I was worth going out with only because of another superstition?"

"Yeah," Piper admitted, laughing a little at how it sounded.

"Well, doesn't say much for me then, does it?" Lucas asked rhetorically. He was more than a little turned off by her admission.

Piper hastily tried to relieve the new tension between them. "Oh, um, it's that…" she started but was cut off by Lucas.

"Look, I'm sure you're very nice but someone that let things like superstitions or omens determine their lives… well, I just had an experience like that with my last girlfriend and it was a disaster. I'm looking for someone who's just not into that stuff. I'm sorry," Lucas apologized, abruptly bringing an end to their date.

Piper was left speechless at the table.

3112 Napa Street

Prue pulled her car up next to the SWA company van that Phoebe and Buffy must have drove here. The door to the house was locked so she turned to the gated back yard. "Phoebe?" she called loudly, reaching out to open the gate. "Buffy?"

"We're in the backyard. You won't believe the view from here," Phoebe's answering voice yelled from behind the house.

Prue pushed the gate open and walked through the huge backyard. "Pheebs, Buffy, where are you two? Phoebe? Buffy?" She tried again when she still couldn't locate her younger sister or her cousin. She stopped on the patio of the pool and took in her surroundings. Prue froze as her eyes met her sister's and cousin's eyes where they were sitting, still bound and forced silent. She glanced back to her left and met Barbas.

"Isn't that a great view?" Barbas asked, imitating Phoebe's voice. "Bring your suit?" Prue gasped and tried to move away as she realized his intentions. Barbas stepped forward and promptly pushed her backwards into the pool.

Buffy and Phoebe jumped up from the bench as Prue hit the water and vainly struggled with their binds restraining their hands while Prue tried to slip out of her jacket that was pulling her down and inhibiting her efforts to swim.

"That's right. Feed me your fear." Barbas laughed, watching Prue as she failed to break through the water. Prue stopped struggling in the water and Barbas turned back to Phoebe and Buffy.

Buffy started struggling against her bonds trying to use her Slayer strength to break them.

Barbas smirked. "Even your Slayer powers are frozen in fear!" he laughed at Buffy.

Buffy realized as she felt her heart beginning to beat faster and faster as her fear began to take over that he was right. Her fear had paralyzed everything about her.

In the pool the dizzying darkness swept over Prue but she suddenly noticed the light that surrounded her. Despite how close she was to dying she felt safe and she could swear she heard a familiar voice that meant so much to her. She could even see her. She was sure it was her.

"Prue. You must face your fears, Prue. You must trust in the greatest of all powers. Love," her mother explained gently.

"Mom?" Prue wondered silently.

"Save yourself. Save your sister. Save your cousin." Her mother encouraged her. Patty reached her hand out to her eldest daughter. "Don't be afraid."

Prue grabbed hold of her mother's hand and felt herself rising as she was pulled up through the water. Her head broke the surface and she gasped for air. She reached the edge of the pool and she turned furious eyes on the demon. "It's over," she snapped, sending a blast of telekinesis that sent Barbas through the air to land heavily on the ground. She pulled herself out of the pool and advanced upon him.

"Your fear," Barbas tried in disbelief while pushing himself to his feet.

"I'm not afraid anymore," Prue returned.

"No!" Barbas yelled as he began to glow red. He exploded and was pulled back into purgatory. The ropes binding Buffy and Phoebe disappeared, releasing them.

Prue slowly turned away from where Barbas was vanquished and toward her sister and her cousin, only to nearly be tackled to the ground as they threw their arms around her.

"Oh my god, I was so scared," Phoebe exclaimed, clinging to Prue.

"So was I," Buffy exclaimed as she too clung to Prue.

Neither Buffy or Phoebe loosened their grips, not that Prue would have actually let them go either.

"I know. I'm just glad you both are safe," Prue whispered.

"I don't know what would happen if I ever lost you," Phoebe admitted, burying her face in her sister's shoulder. "I love you."

"I don't what I would have done either," Buffy said as tears sprang to her eyes. "I love you."

Prue didn't even hesitate. "I love you both." The three of them pulled away and on the way home, laughed about how they were going to break the news to Piper.

Halliwell Manor

Piper sat in front of the fire, irritably tossing her good-luck charms into the fire. Suddenly the front door opened, closed, and Buffy, Prue and Phoebe came in.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Phoebe asked cheerfully.

There was a moment of silence before Piper actually answered Phoebe's question. "Kicking myself. I just lost probably the greatest catch in San Francisco," she muttered, flicking another of her good-luck necklaces into the fire.

Buffy watched the uncharacteristic movement curiously. "What happened?" she wondered carefully.

"He doesn't like women who rely on superstitions to make decisions and I'm not so sure he's wrong," Piper admitted with a loud sigh.

Prue, Phoebe, and Buffy exchanged glances, silently agreeing to change the subject. Phoebe was the one to take up the challenge. "So, Prue vanquished the Demon of Fear," she announced enthusiastically.

"And save me and Phoebe at the same time," Buffy added.

Piper whirled around in disbelief, and Prue laughed softly at her reaction. "Well, at least put him back in the bottle for another 1300 years," Prue offered.

"You vanquished the Demon of Fear?" Piper repeated, trying to find a hint of a lie in their eyes. Buffy and Phoebe nodded. "Wait, how? What happened?"

Phoebe grinned and glanced at Prue for permission to start the explanation. "Well, he pushed her into a pool and…" she nodded for Prue to finish, not entirely sure what to say after that.

"…And Mom helped me out," Prue finished.

"Mom?" Piper asked in confusion.

Prue hastily jumped to defend herself. "I know it sounds crazy but I saw her. It was just like my dream. She was this incredible vision, so peaceful and she took my hand and brought me to the surface," she explained.

Piper smiled and shrugged. "It doesn't sound crazy. I wish I could have seen her," she sighed wistfully.

"Me too," Phoebe agreed wholeheartedly.

"Me three," Buffy added as she smiled at her cousins.

"I'm just glad you're alright," Piper added, running forward and hugging Prue tightly before Buffy and Phoebe joined in on the embrace.

When they broke apart Phoebe leaned forward expectantly. She got her wish when Prue finally spoke. "I love you."

Piper tensed staring at Prue as if she'd gone insane, but she couldn't hide the smile that was spreading across her face. "What did you just say?" she asked.

"She said it," Buffy confirmed.

"I love you," Prue repeated, rolling her eyes at Piper's surprise.

Piper's grin widened and she looked triumphantly at Phoebe and Buffy before meeting Prue's eyes again. "That's the first time you've ever said that to me," she realized.

"I know. I wish I'd said it a long time ago," Prue admitted before her sisters and Buffy embraced her again.

After several moments, when they finally broke from the hug, allowing Prue to actually breathe. "Don't worry. We're not going anywhere," Piper promised.

"Yeah you're stuck with us for a good long time," Buffy added. "We'll all be sitting in the old witches home together reminiscing about our glory days." They all laughed and were happy that Buffy finally seemed to have put at least the drowning portion of what happened the month before past her.

Prue nodded. "Okay, you guys. I'm exhausted. I'll see you three in the morning."

Piper, Phoebe, and Buffy watched Prue leave before Piper turned back to the two of them. "What happened to her in that pool?" she wondered aloud.

Buffy and Phoebe shrugged and Piper appeared at a loss. "We don't know, but whatever it was, it must have been incredible," Phoebe decided.

"Yeah incredible," Buffy agreed. "I think I will head on up also."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Instead of going to her room, Buffy looked in Prue's room and saw her eldest cousin had not gone to bed like she had said. She glanced at the attic door and knew were Prue was instantly. She climbed the stairs to the attic and found Prue sitting down in the big arm chair with the Charmed Ones' Book of Shadows opened to the Demon of Fear page.

Prue's hand traced the curvy writing that was her mother's handwriting. As she watched a new line appear at the bottom.

Thanks for letting them into your heart.

Prue smiled, a watery smile as she knew it could only have been her mother. "I miss you, Mom," she whispered. It was only then that she noticed she was not alone as she looked up and saw Buffy standing in the doorway.

Buffy walked over to Prue and sat down on the arm of the chair. "You're not alone, Prue," she said as she looked down at the book and saw the newest line on the page. "I miss her, too."

Prue looked at Buffy, as she sat the book aside she pulled Buffy into her lap where she wrapped her arms around her cousin and held on to Buffy tightly. "Don't ever do that again," she whispered.

"Promise," Buffy agreed.

---

Author's Notes (June 28, 2022): As I redid these early chapters I noticed something. This episode with the modified start date of the first chapter (that lines up with the series premiere of BTVS) had to be moved from its original location in chapter 12. Starting the story in March meant I needed to find a month that had the 13th on a Friday. June was the first place that's why this chapter was moved from chapter 12 to 21 and why a few others were moved around as well. I am very likely going to have to do that with Witch Trials also since it takes place on their anniversary of becoming witches and since that now takes place in March...