GZV's "Fourever Sisters, Forever Charmed"

[Esmeralda]

After sharing a number of Forever Charmed rewrites with a friend at another site, she wrote her own version, and it's my own favorite of all the rewrites. Because messages vanish so quickly at that site, I decided to post it here. Hope you like it as much as I do.

FOUREVER SISTERS; FOREVER CHARMED

Written by GZV69

PROLOGUE

The giant explosion destroyed the Halliwell Manor and five bodies flew through the debris-filled air. Still possessed by the Hollow, they all fell softly to the ground, unharmed, their eyes still dark and open. But as the large amount of Manor debris began raining down on the sisters, suddenly the Hollow pulled out of the bodies, went up in a cloud like a swarm of bees and returned to its container.

Even as this happened, seeing a massive amount of debris was about to fall on top of her, Paige’s whitelighter instincts immediately kicked in and she panic-orbed out, but for some reason she didn’t immediately orb back in to check on her sisters.

Piper and Phoebe were also covered with debris, and suddenly Phoebe realized that she was looking down at her body buried in debris.

Omigod! I’m dead! But if I’m dead, where’s Mom? Where’s Grams? Where’s Prue? Why haven’t I moved on? Oh, no, don’t tell me that something’s keeping me stuck here like what happened when the Ginny the Genie forced Richard to wish us dead! But I’m not right above my body like I was then so where am I?

Is this the Ghostly Plane where Piper and Leo were stuck before? No, it can't be because this looks nothing like what Piper described. And it can't be Limbo because there’s no beautiful gardens surrounding me like when we visited it before to defeat Chung Lo.

All of this went through her head in seconds. Phoebe found herself now sitting on some broken wood pieces next to her buried body and put her hands on her cheeks and rubbed her face in disbelief. Both worry and fear filled her as she looked at her lifeless arm sticking out from under the rubble. Thinking about the total destruction that has struck her home, she sighed in defeat. How will I ever get out of this one and what about my sisters? Why aren’t Piper and Paige here with me? Did they move on even though I’m stuck here?

Suddenly as she took in all of the damage and destruction around her, her eyes grew wide in astonishment. Some of that debris is moving! Oh, if either Billie or Christy survived and neither of my sisters did, I’m going to be royally pissed and I swear I’ll haunt her for the rest of her life!!

But her eyes grew wide with wonder when rather than one of the Jenkinses emerged, it was her older sister. Unlike me, she must’ve landed in a spot where just some light pieces of debris had landed on her, pieces that she’s now threw aside and standing up and looking around!

Phoebe’s heart ached when she heard Piper call out her own name and then scream as she rushed to that tattooed arm. Piper pulled her baby sister’s body out from under the rubble, holding it in her lap, sobbing terribly. “Look at me, look at me. Breathe, sweetie. Come on, kiddo, wake up. Oh, no, no, no!”

Piper started crying profusely and all Phoebe’s spirit could do was helplessly watch, phantom tears flowing down her own cheeks.

Suddenly the night became as bright as day as the Angel of Destiny appeared in front of Piper but without Leo. “I’m sorry, Piper. This Battle is not yet over. This is not how I envisioned it and this is not any of the paths of destiny I have seen you and your sisters travelling. So I have come to tell you that you still have a chance to fix this and have Leo and your sisters returned to you.”

“How?” Piper screamed. “Phoebe is dead and I cannot find Paige. There are no Charmed Ones anymore to make anything right. It’s over, done.”

“As I cannot influence or tell you what you must do, I leave you with what your grandmother taught you. And that is as a Charmed One there is always a reason for everything, including all this. Your destiny still awaits,” and she disappeared amidst her magical lights.

Yeah, Piper thought, I remember hearing those words before. It’s what Grams told me before we found out we had another sister. Paige! I have to find her and truly confirm if she’s dead or alive.

Piper jumped up to begin looking when suddenly she spot an orb beginning to form from the sky and begin to trickle down slowly to the ground in front of her, forming into Paige. Even as she materialized, her weak body fell to the ground.

“Paige!” Piper ran and helped her up.

“Oww!” Paige’s hand went to her badly-bleeding stomach as she sank back to the ground.

Piper realized that Paige was badly injured and weak but not at least she had survived the explosion – for now. “Thank God! I thought you were dead!”

“Wait a minute. Where’s Phoebe?”

“Phoebe…she…she…” Piper couldn’t say the words, so she simply pointed.

Tears formed in Paige’s eyes as she saw Phoebe’s lifeless body on the ground behind Piper. “No! Why couldn’t I have come sooner? I might have been able to heal her!”

“No, she was totally buried by debris. I think she would’ve been gone before you found her. Please, Paige, don’t torture yourself over something you couldn’t do. Right now you’re the one who needs healing.” She gently moved Paige’s hand from her stomach and lifted Paige’s shirt. “Looks like something punctured your stomach.”

But Paige didn’t worry about her own injury. She started sobbing in Piper’s arms. “What good is it being a whitelighter if I can’t use it to heal the ones I love? I’m not a real whitelighter. If I was, I’d already be dead, so I wouldn’t have panic-orbed and would’ve been able to save Phoebe!”

“Whitelighter! Paige! That’s it!” Piper jumped up and began yelling at the top of her voice. “Hey, you guys! I know you can hear me up there! In case you haven’t notice, the Charmed One you tried to turn into a whitelighter is in desperate need of healing herself! You hear me? You heard what the Angel of Destiny said. Even you can’t go against what she says and she say our Charmed destiny still awaits, which we can’t fulfill when we’re are one sister down and no whitelighter in sight. I’m sure helping to heal Paige isn't a big deal or against your precious rules. Besides, after leaving us without a healing whitelighter for a whole year after you took Leo’s wings, you owe us! You hear me? Now send someone down to heal her right now!”

But there was just silence. Now Piper noticed that the silence was also due to Paige no longer gripping her. She had slid to the ground, her eyes closed.

“No!” Piper screamed. “No! You took my mom; you took my big sister; you took my baby sister! Don’t leave me with no one!”

But suddenly she noticed that Paige’s forehead was glowing. The bright glow slowly spread through her body, and all of her cuts, bruises and wounds healed. Even as they did, Piper realized that all of her own wounds were also healing.

The only one who didn’t heal was Phoebe.

Piper still looked up to the heavens with a thankful smile not wanting to say anything in case whichever Elder had done so without permission.

Now that she knew that Paige was okay, Piper had to ask. “Paige, where were you and why didn’t you come right back?”

“You mean I didn’t just orb in and out? I thought I did.” When Piper shook her head, Paige thought about it for a moment or two. “I think because I was so weak I must have been orbing around in the air for quite some time before landing back here.”

“I don’t care! At least you’re alive, even if you did need healing.”

“But what about Leo? If the Battle’s over, isn’t he back?”

Piper dolefully shook her head. “No, the Angel of Destiny appeared, but she didn’t bring him back. But she said that this can be all fixed.”

“How? We’re still short one in the Power of Three.”

Piper reached out to gently hug her half-sister. “Don’t worry, Paige. Somehow we will fix this. I don’t know how, but I promise we will.”

Unknown to the two half-sisters, Phoebe’s spirit was watching all of this and her heart was breaking. Realizing that she needed to get their attention so they’d know that she was not yet truly dead, she hurried over to them and waved her hands in front of Piper’s and Paige’s faces, trying to get them to notice her. “Guys, over here. I’m still alive. Hello.”

Although Paige couldn’t hear or see her half-sister, she could sense her. Feeling more like herself, she jumped up and hurried over to Phoebe’s body. She knelt down and puts her hands over her

“What are you doing?” Piper asked. “Whitelighters can’t heal the…the…” she couldn’t say the word.

Paige shrugged. “No harm in trying.”

“Well, your hands aren’t glowing.”

“I know, but I still sense something weird.”

“Well, that’s standard operating procedure for us. So what’s weird this time?”

“Well, even though I can’t heal her, I don’t sense that her spirit has moved on either.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, usually if someone is dead I can immediately sense where their spirit is, whether in the spirit realm or if it has moved on but I don’t sense anything with Phoebe’s spirit. Her spirit didn't move on up and I can’t sense it anywhere. Like it just vanished.”

“But that should mean that she hasn't moved on. But shouldn’t we be able to see her spirit?”

Paige shook her head. “Not if her spirit is trapped in a plane where we cannot see her or sense her.

“Wait a minute! This feels vaguely familiar. I’m having a really weird sense of déjà vu.”

“Like what?”

“Remember last year when I almost died after the Thorn demons attacked?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I ended up in this weird plane with Cole, and even though I could see you guys, you couldn’t see me. What if that’s what happened to Phoebe?”

“Main difference here – like you said – you almost died…”

“But maybe that’s why you don’t think she’s moved on. I have to admit that normally the thought of her stuck with Cole isn’t something I’d like, but I’d be happy if that was a possibility right now.”

“Yeah,” Paige reluctantly admitted. “I’d give anything for Phoebe to be trapped with Cole right now. That way at least we’d know that she’s safe.”

Above them, Phoebe violently shook her head. Not me! Stuck for eternity with that crazy demon of an ex-husband of mine – that would be hell!

“Well, those sirens in the distance are getting louder,” Paige commented. “I think they’re coming this way…in case you haven’t noticed, this place is still burning!”

But before they could decide what to do about the sirens, they could hear something moving in the debris behind them. They stood and began to move towards the sound, only to see Billie emerge from the rubble.

Even as Billie stared in shock at her, Piper raised her hands, ready to blow the little traitor to kingdom come.

“Piper! No!” and Paige shoved Piper’s hands down. Seeing this, Billie quickly ran away, leaving her own older sister behind.

“Why did you do that?” Piper growled. “You let her get away.”

“It’s not worth it, Piper. We need to get out of here. The authorities will soon be here and we need to first concentrate on getting Phoebe’s soul back and restoring the Power of Three before dealing with Billie. Besides. Billie is still my charge, I'm still responsible for her so I'll take care of her myself later,” and taking Piper’s hand, Paige pulled her back to Phoebe’s body. Kneeling down next to it, she took one of Phoebe’s cold hands and orbed them all back to Phoebe’s loft.

To Phoebe’s shock, even though Piper, Paige and her body were gone, she was still looking down at the Manor. “Okay,” she muttered out loud. “This is totally ridiculous! I can’t move forward and I can’t go with my sisters or even stick with my body.”

“Well, you left your body here, just like I did. So just like me, you’re stuck here. I knew you would one day reach out to me in this way seeing how many times you girls have come near death along the years”
 

[Esmeralda]

CHAPTER ONE

As Phoebe turned around, she was shocked to see “Cole? What are you doing here? Wha…..Where am I? Were Piper and Paige right about you and me?”

Her ex-husband shrugged. “Sounds like it. Since you are here with me, you must be trapped in the same plane I am – stuck between death and life.”

“But how? I should be dead. I shouldn't be here with you. And what are you doing here? And what was Piper talking about – you two stuck together when she was attacked by the Thorn demons?”

“So I guess she never told you.”

“Never told me what?”

Cole sighed heavily. “That I have been trapped here with nowhere to go. Doomed, due to the actions of my own doing. But it’s a long story which I’m not ready to get into right now. But as for you, I saw you receive a final premonition just as your spirit and consciousness made contact with the spirit realm.”

Phoebe’s eyes grew wide as she put two and two together. “Oh! That premonition must’ve created a strong psychic connection that teleported my spirit here. It’s similar to what happened with the Sandman three years ago when I was psychically teleported into my dream world.”

“Well, if you ended up here, you probably called or reached out to me just like Piper did before. Although unlike her, you’re actually dead.” He grinned. "Looks like the psychic connection we’ve always shared drew you to me.”

Phoebe stared at him in shock. “Me, connected to you? I don’t think so, buddy. I got over you a long time ago.”

Cole shrugged. “Maybe you did mentally but in your heart there must’ve have always been a special place for me because this proves it. You said so yourself on the beach three years ago that you would always love me. But that’s beside the point, what matters is we need to figure out how to get your spirit and conscience back into your body before you’re permanently dead and in order to do that we need to work together.”

Sighing, she looked up at her ex-husband. “Cole, I don’t have time for your games or your grand plan or whatever you think you’re trying to do right now to get back into our world which I’m sure is what you really want, right?”

Cole smiled. “You wouldn’t know it, but Piper accused me of the same thing. And just like I told her, all I want is for you to find love and move on. I’m serious, Phoebe. I’m certain that it’s not your time to die yet so we need to work quickly together to get you back.”

Phoebe glared at him. “How can you possibly know that? I wish I could believe you. I don’t, but if you can help get me out of here I am all ears.” She jumped up, shaking her finger at him. “Just believe one thing, mister. If I find out you are tricking me, I will make sure you are sent back here and never leave here again if it takes the rest of my life to do it!”

Cole smiled – this was the tough, strong-willed woman he remembered and would always love. Eternity stuck in limbo wouldn’t be that bad when he had this memory of her being there with him.

Phoebe’s heart couldn’t help but beat a little stronger as that mischievous smile that so often came across his face and that had helped her fall in love with him lit us his face again.

“Okay, Phoebe, I promise I won’t try anything foolish. I will only guide and help you. Besides you have a body to go back into; I don’t. I've come to terms with my fate and what I do from here is more fulfilling.

“But I still don’t understand. I did everything I could to make them see or hear me. Paige could sense me, but…”

“Nope,” Cole informed her. “We in this realm can see them, but they can’t see us.”

“But you heard what the Angel of Destiny said: our destiny still awaits. Which means the Charmed Ones will still live on.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about that ever since she said that, and the only way to get you back into your body is to figure out how to ride the psychic connection back to your body the way you got here. But just know that the longer your body stays dead the harder it will be to return to your body.”

“But how do I do that?” Phoebe moaned. “I don’t even remember how I did it to get here.”

“Well, there is another way. I know some people who specialize in returning spirits to dead bodies but it’s always for a price and it usually has a time limit.”

Phoebe’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Oh you know people huh? How convenient. What kind of people? Demons?”

Cole shrugged. “Well, yeah, but I don’t really work with them. There are certain demons and witches and dead spirits that I've been able to reach out to.”

Phoebe shook her head in disappointment. “So you’re back to your old ways…”

“No. I just do whatever I can to help you or others find love.”

“Wait a minute. This sounds familiar. Did you know Drake?

Cole started to speak, but then hesitated.

“Tell me, Cole.”

“Very well, Phoebe, I won’t lie to you. Yes, I’m the one who set him up with a sorcerer to give him life to help you find love so you could move on. Now Drake is in a better place and you didn't give up on love, did you?”

Phoebe sighed. “I should have known there was nothing like chance encounters like that. That something or someone was behind it. So I’m going to guess that it was you who helped Piper find her way when she almost died from the Thorn demons, wasn't it?”

“Yeah, that was me, too. Remember that incident I mentioned earlier?”

“The long story when you said you’d told Piper about wanting to help me move on – what she was talking to Paige about?”

“That’s it. That’s when that happened.”

“So you were in our living room during that whole time.”

“Well, since I was vanquished here, but in a different dimension, I’m stuck here, just like you, although unlike you, I do have some mobility. I can shimmer to others in this dimension, just like Paige probably could orb if she was stuck here, but that’s it. And as long as I was here, of course I did whatever I could to try to make you happy.”

“You know, I sensed something. It was the same vibe I used to get from you whenever you used to watch me whenever I didn't know you were there. More especially after we broke up and you would always hang around. That’s how I always knew you were lurking around me or watching me sleep. I just brushed off that feeling then because I knew you were gone. Now I know I didn't imagine feeling your presence.”

“So now that you know the whole story, are you still angry with me?”

Phoebe hesitated, thinking about it, before sighing. “You know what, Cole? I really should be very angry with you right now after all you put me through but, no, for some reason, I'm not. For you to have gone through all that for me, I admit it - I’m flattered. Those two weeks with Drake were among the best the best two weeks of my life, so I guess I should really be thanking you.”

She paused for a moment, looking into Cole’s eyes.

“So how do we find one of these sorcerers? As I recall we vanquished the one who brought Drake back.”

“Oh, I know others. Here. Hold my hand.”

So Phoebe Halliwell took Cole Turner’s hand, looking up at the guy she once loved so dearly, remembering how they used to shimmer around the world together, even as he shimmered her out of there in a cloud of dust.

~~~

Meanwhile, after Paige had orbed Piper and Phoebe’s body into Phoebe’s bedroom, the two set her already-cold body on her bed. They knew they’d have to do something with it, but as long as they thought there was a chance of bringing her back to life – and as Charmed Ones, they always believed that somehow things would work out - they were going to try to keep this a secret as long as possible.

They quietly walked out into the living room. Of course, Phoebe couldn’t hear them, but it seemed the proper thing to do.

Paige turned to her older half-sister, hands on hips. “Okay, Piper, I think it's time for me to have a chat with the Elders and find out what's going on. I'll be right back." 

“Okay, Paige, but, please, be careful...I really don’t want to lose you, too.”

The youngest Charmed One gave her a confident grin and then orbed to the Golden State Bridge. She looked up at the sky. “All right, Sandra! All right, Kevin! Whoever helped heal us, get down here right now!”

But whoever healed them refused to answer or even appear.

“Okay, I don’t even care if it’s you, Odin! One of you get down here!”

But there was still no response. Grumbling, Paige paced back and forth for a while then sighed in defeat. She looked up one more time. “Okay, if you are going to be that way, fine! Just see if I answer any more of your jingles!" and she orbed out.

~~~

Meanwhile, back in Phoebe's apartment, Piper was frantically paging through the Book of Shadows when she came across the "To Find a Lost Witch" spell.

If only I could reword it so I could use it to call Phoebe from wherever she might be…Oh, Phoebs! I so wish you were here…you were was always so good with spells. But even if Paige or I could rewrite it, we’d still need the Power of Three to do what just came to mind, and without Phoebe….

Just then an extremely pissed-off Paige orbed in next to Piper. “I swear those Elders know something about Phoebe.”

“So they wouldn’t tell you anything?”

“You kidding? They never even showed! I thought at least Kevin would! Or maybe Sandra! But nothing!”

Piper rolled her eyes “Well, what did you expect? Typical Elders - seal themselves off from the world in an event of imminent danger.”

“Ever get the feeling that maybe they’re more scared of the Angel of Destiny than anything else?”

Piper started to snicker, when she noticed the pictures on Phoebe’s fireplace mantel. Although there were some of Phoebe with her sisters, most of them were of her with her various ex-boyfriends – although her ex-husband wasn’t one of them.

“That’s it, Paige! That time travel trip he took her on!”

Paige was very confused, but Piper just ignored her as she yelled out. “Coop! Coop! Get yourself down here right now!”

Poor Paige was even more confused, but she just watched as a large pink heart appeared, vanishing to reveal a very anxious Coop. “Where's Phoebe? I can no longer sense her.”

Paige pointed towards the bedroom. “In there. Dead. But not dead.”

At Coop’s confused look, Piper tried to explain a bit better. “Obviously you don’t know what happened. I’m sorry, Coop. She didn't make it but her spirit seems to have not moved on. Do you know if she is Up There?”

The cupid shook his head. “If she passed on to us I would have known. She definitely didn't go Up or even Down. Either way, I would have known.”

Paige rolled her eyes. “Great. Our sister is definitely trapped somewhere in limbo and we have no way to get her back because we no longer have the Power of Three.”

“Wait a minute. Maybe we do…or maybe we can…”

“What do you mean?” Paige asked.

But Piper was looking at Coop and his ring. “Hey, I still really love my big sister. So can that ring take me to Prue?”

“Prue?” Paige’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Why Prue?”

“We need to recreate the Power of Three so we can cast a spell that may get Phoebe back.”

Coop thought about it. “Well, yes, my ring can get you there but there are rules. As cupids we can only guide, we are not allowed to change or influence the future or the past and even if we wanted to, there are safeguards put in place to make sure time is not tampered with. And it’s my ring that makes sure that’s what happens.”

“What do you mean?” Piper asked, now afraid that her plan wouldn’t work.

“We were told that any events we purposely or accidentally change will find a way to correct itself.”

“He’s right, Piper,” Paige spoke up. “Remember my trip with Clyde? Trying to save my parents didn’t help any – they still ended up dead.”

“Well, I don’t intend to change anything in the past or the future,” Piper insisted. “I just want to bring Prue here – just borrow her long enough to get Phoebe back – and then return her at the same spot in the same time – no one need know she ever left, even Prue.”

Coop considered it and then very slowly admitted, “Well…it could be done, I guess, but I could get into a lot of trouble for this. I could lose my ring – and my wings.”

Piper stuck out her hand. “And if you lose your ring and your wings and we get Phoebe back, something tells me that you two will live even happier ever after than if you kept them – just like me and Leo. I’ve seen the way you look at her – and the way she looks at you. So you want a chance of having her as your wife or not? Now hand it over, buster. For Phoebe.”

Coop stared at Piper’s hand for a long time. Just when both sisters thought he wasn’t going to do it, he slowly slipped his ring off his finger and put it in Piper’s hand.

“Paige, you’re coming with me.”

“Me! But I don’t even know Prue!”

“Well, haven’t you always wanted to meet her?”

“Well, yes…”

“Then let’s go. Coop, keep an eye on Phoebe's body and wait here for us to return.”

Coop nodded. “I will. And if someone starts coming, I’ll heart-orb it out of here. If we’re not here, that will be the reason why – we will be back shortly.”

Piper nodded to that plan.

“Okay, you need to concentrate on Prue, Piper. Tap into your love for her and focus on your strongest memory of her while holding the ring to your heart.”

Piper closed her eyes and smiled as a certain memory came to mind. She concentrated on it as hard as she could as she reached for Paige’s hand with the one not holding the ring to her heart.

Paige gasped when everything around them disappeared into a haze of pink.

~~~

“How long will this take?” Cole demanded. “It's taking you longer than usual.”

The sorcerer he had found shrugged. “This particular potion is a very tricky one since your woman here is a powerful witch, and a Charmed One, so it will be tricky getting it right.”

Phoebe was growing very impatient, wanting to get back to her sisters…and her life. “I don’t trust him,” she whispered to Cole. “What if he’s making a potion that will steal my powers?”

“Well, granted that he's a demon he certainly could be doing that,” Cole shrugged as he whispered back. “But, if that’s what he’s up to, I promise you that come the time he tries to take them, I’ll make sure he doesn’t.”

The sorcerer looked at Phoebe. “I remember your whitelighter Chris coming to me for potions in the past. Same impatience. The potion is done.”

He poured it from the cauldron into a clay cup and handed it towards Phoebe. “Drink.”

Phoebe looked at Cole then the sorcerer, hesitating momentarily. “So what will happen after I drink this?”

The sorcerer shrugged. “You will wake up in your body wherever it is.”

“With no consequences?”

“Well, of course there’s consequences. There are always consequences. Almost forgot.” Snapping his fingers, he produced a parchment. He handed the parchment to Phoebe even as he produced a pen. “Here. Sign here and here.”

“But this says…”

“I know what it says. Decide now. You want it or should I pour the potion out?”

Phoebe stared at the parchment. She didn’t like what it said, but she knew it was her only choice. Besides, she was certain that somehow her sisters would figure a way to use the Power of Three to straighten this out – they always did!

So she quickly signed, then took the cup before turning to her ex-husband. She was surprised how much these words hurt: “So, Cole, I guess this is goodbye,” and she drank the potion.

“For now probably. But don’t worry. If you need to contact me Coop will know how.”

“Wait! How do you know Coop?”

Cole shrugged. “I told you I can reach out to certain entities, and cupids happen to be one of them.”

As Phoebe tried to make sense of everything, suddenly her surroundings started spinning. She could see Cole out of the corner of her eyes saying something but she couldn't make out what. Before she could ask, everything went black.

~~~

Phoebe opened her eyes with a splitting headache, shocked to find that she was actually in her own body in her own bed in her own room in her own loft. She was even more surprised to see Coop sitting next to her on the bed, staring at her in shock “Where did you come from?”

Coop shrugged. “I've been here for the past thirty minutes. Your sisters must have done something already. They took my ring to go back in time to get Prue back here in order to use the Power of Three to bring you back.”

“Well I strongly doubt they did this. This is the work of a sorcerer not my sisters.” She sat up, holding her head. “Why didn't he warned me that I’d have a splitting headache?”

“Easy does it,” Coop warned as he helped her to sit up. “Wait a minute. What sorcerer?”

“The sorcerer Cole took me to. You know Cole, right?” When he gave her the “Oh, boy” look, Phoebe’s eyes narrowed. “You got a lot of explaining to do, mister.”

Coop stared at her, trying to figure out how he was ever going to explain to Phoebe what he knew about Cole Turner.

Seeing his discomfort, Phoebe put her finger on his lips and stopped him. “You know what? I changed my mind. I don’t want to know right now. We have more important things to do. We need to get to Piper and Paige before they try and bring Prue back. They don't need her to complete the Power of Three anymore. Can you take us there?”

“Not without my ring, and Piper has it. Sorry. But wait a minute. Couldn’t Billie use her power to do that?”

“Yeah, she could, but we’re not on the best of terms right now. Besides, if I know her, she’s probably also either off in the past or off in the future trying to get her own sister back.”

“Well, since love has no boundaries, I can tell that nothing in our timeline has permanently been changed yet, so hopefully she hasn't tried to yet.”

“Wait a minute! There is someone else!” At Coop’s look of confusion, Phoebe grinned. “Clyde! He still owes me a trip through his door!”

“Clyde?” Coop stared at her as if she was nuts. “That grumpy old cupid? Clyde is old school and doesn't really listen to anyone anymore.”

“Well, he will to me,” Phoebe insisted. “He and Leo have history. Wait a minute! He sure didn’t strike me as being a cupid. Leo said he was the Ghost of the Past…like in Dickens’ Christmas Carol.”

Coop shrugged. “He’s one of a unique brand of cupids. They help people to turn from hate by learning to love themselves. He uses your fears of your past and future events to turn you back to the path of good. He visits only a very special type of people.”

Phoebe had already put two and two together. “Oh. Let me guess. One of them was Uncle Ebenezer.”

Coop laughed. "That's what they called him but he was a real person who Charles Dickens knew, the one who told Dickens his tale."

Phoebe smiled. “Why am I not surprised? If fairy-tales and leprechauns are real why not Scrooge?” Still smiling, she called out Clyde’s name.

No response.

“I thought you said he and Leo had history…”

“Oh, right! Almost forgot. Being nice doesn’t work with this guy…” So instead she started snarling. “Hey, Clyde! Coop told me how old and stupid you are. That you are so old you couldn't for the life of you take anyone to the past or future beyond yesterday and tomorrow. That you’re so old you can’t even...”

Suddenly Clyde appeared and marched towards Coop, holding out his arms, his hands like claws, his thumbs rigid. “Coop, I’m going to strangle the loving daylights out of you!”

Phoebe quickly stepped between them. “Whoa... Hey, I know he didn't really mean it. But listen. We really do need your help. It’s to get Leo back”

Clyde firmly shook his head. “Nope. Despite what this too-good-looking-for-his-own-good cupid told you, I’m not that stupid! No way Leo can be brought back, not without the Angel of Destiny’s permission! No way am I taking on that lady! I may have a strange life, but it’s my strange life and I like it!”

“Well, what if I told you that maybe we can get Leo back if you sent us somewhere else that has nothing to do with Leo right now? We’d be the ones who might get in trouble with the Angel, not you.”

“I told you this cupid friend of yours was stupid. But if you’re just as stupid…just where might you want to go?”

“To wherever my sisters are right now. They need to know I’m okay so they don’t screw up the future or the past and get us in trouble with the Angel.”

“Well, whaddaya know? You might have something rattling around in that pretty head of yours after all.” He glanced at Coop. “But why do you need me? Why can’t Cutie-Pie over here take you?”

Coop, more than used to Clyde, just shrugged. “I lost my ring.”

“Oh, doesn’t that suck to be you? Guess you’re SOL, pretty girl.”

“Clyde, please,” she begged. “Don’t do it for him. Do it for me. Do it for Leo.”

“Okay, okay…just for you. But only because I once promised you and your sister a trip on me to the past. But I’m not sending Cutie-Pie with you. You go alone.

“Why?” Phoebe asked.

“Because I say so. I don't do favors for fellow cupids. Especially ones who are prettier than I am.”

Coop took Phoebe by the hands and looked deep into her eyes. “Phoebe, it doesn't matter. I’ll wait for you Up There. Just like Love, we cupids are out of time and space, so we are not affected by time travel. So when you return just call for me and I’ll be there, no matter which timeline you end up in.”

“Okay. If you’re sure.”

“I’m positive.”

“Alright, Clyde! Send me to my sisters!”

So Clyde summoned his door to the past and opened it. "There you go, pretty young lady. Step through that door and you’ll be wherever your sisters are. Just yell when you are ready to return.”

Phoebe gave both Coop and Clyde a quick kiss on the cheek and walked through the door.

~~~

Meanwhile Phoebe was right about Billie Jenkins. She had figured a way to use her power of projection to try to bring her own big sister back to life. Just as Phoebe walked through the door, Billie had just made her way back to Christy in the attic and watched as her past self and Christy first brought back the kidnapped Wyatt and then used his power to summon the Hollow.

Remembering what they did to the young boy, she yelled out, “Wyatt! Orb to Grandpa!”

This distracted Christy and her past self enough that little Wyatt was able to orb out before they could take his powers. The two now-Hollow-possessed sisters glanced at the intruder, but decided to ignore her and headed for the door

Billie ran in front of them, holding the door shut with her body. “You guys. It’s me – Billie! Please! Don’t do this! I’m from the future! I know what will happen! Christy, you will die! I don't want to lose you again. We need to find another way.”

“Out of our way, traitor!” Christy demanded.

“Look,” Billie begged. “I found Dumain in the Black Room in Magic School – he was dying. He told me to find the Triad. We’ve all have been used, dreadfully used!”

But Past Billie flung out her arm, throwing Billie into the wall and knocking her out.

~~~

Meanwhile, Piper and Paige found themselves in the Manor kitchen, although neither were sure what time period they’d landed in. But both could hear talking in the hallway

By the sounds of the voices, Piper could tell that it was Prue and this timeline’s version of herself talking with a man in a white lab coat.

Omigod! Dr. Griffiths!

“Paige we need to hide. Shax is going to kill Prue!”

[Esmeralda]

CHAPTER TWO

Both half-sisters quickly hid behind a wall in the dining-room area near the kitchen where they could still see the entry way hall and hear the conversation going on

“Why did the ring bring us here?” Paige whispered.

“I don’t know. I just thought of Prue. I thought I was thinking good thoughts!”

“More like you thought of the moment that has always haunted you the most,” the ex-assistant social worker deduced. “Although I thought the ring takes you to moments of love not despair…And I don’t know about you, but Shax is the one demon I wouldn’t care if I never saw again!”

“Paige Matthews! Just shush and listen!”

As they did, Piper could remember these events all too well:

“Look, I know that this all sounds incredible,” she heard Prue say, the sound of her lost sister’s voice making Piper’s heart ache, “but it doesn't make it any less true. Alright, you're a healer; you do good. Now either you have saved too many lives or you're about to save a life that they don't want you to save.”

“They?” she heard their innocent say – even if he turned out to be a creep, he was still an innocent; the innocent behind her sister’s death.

“Yeah, demons,” Prue replied. “Uh, more specifically, Shax. He’s The Source's assassin.”

“Hold it; I get it,” laughed their innocent. “This is a practical joke, right? Do you have a hidden camera here? My second wife put you up to this? Ah, it's just like her.”

“O-o-okay, Dr. Griffiths,” Prue insisted. “Listen to me; this is anything but...”

She suddenly stopped.

“What?” Piper heard her own voice ask. Except it wasn’t really her voice – that voice sounded so…young. Had leading the Charmed Ones really aged her that much?

“I don't know, I just felt a chill. Phoebe?”

But Piper knew that Phoebe wouldn’t answer. Unlike the first time this happened when they all survived, Phoebe was stuck in the underworld with Cole and Leo where none of them could prevent what was about to happen..

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she heard Shax blow in, throwing Prue through the wall when she tried to protect Dr. Griffiths, the creep, then throwing her own younger form before finally throwing Dr. Griffiths who was closest to her and Paige. They saw Dr. Griffith fly through the dining room window. When Paige opened her mouth, ready to scream, Piper quickly put her hand over her mouth. “Do you want Shax to know we’re here?” she muttered.

But the demonic assassin simply looked around the room before leaving in a huge gust of wind through the front door, shattering it as it slammed shut.

Paige shook her head. “Talk about your grand exit.”

Piper rolled her eyes at her half-sister even as she grabbed Paige’s hand and pulled her towards the shattered wall. “Hurry!” she insisted.

She pulled Paige through the huge hole, then ignored her own unconscious body and instead pointed at Prue’s. She could see the blood coming out of her sister’s ear, but could also see her chest very slowly rise and fall.

“She’s still alive! Paige! Heal! Now!”

“But isn't that changing the future…?”

Piper hit Paige’s arm….hard!

“Oww! Okay, okay already. I’m doing it,” and the only living whitelighter quickly knelt down next to her oldest half-sister and put her hands over her, both sighing with relief when first Paige’s hands turned golden and then Prue herself turned golden.

Prue coughed a few times, then opened her eyes, shocked to see Piper, looking much older, her hair longer, her bangs gone, tears rolling down her cheeks, looking down at her, and a young dark-haired woman kneeling next to her. She turned her head to see her own sister lying next to her, unconscious. “Piper!”

“No, don’t worry about her,” Piper-from-the-future told her. “Can’t you tell by looking at me that she’ll be fine?”

“So you’re from the future?” When Piper nodded, Prue slowly sat up as she asked, “What’s going on?”

“Shax threw us through the wall. But we don’t have time for this! We came to rescue you and if you don’t come with us now there won’t be a future to rescue. Phoebe in our time is in deep, deep trouble. If you don’t come back with us, she’ll probably die.”

“But Dr. Griffiths! Our innocent! What about our innocent?”

“Can’t worry about him right now, I’m afraid.”

“Piper! Are you sure you’re Piper and not some demon?”

“Prue! If I was a demon, I’d just let you die rather than bringing Paige here to heal you.”

Prue turned to look at the woman still kneeling next to her. “And you are?”

Paige started to say “your half-sister” but quickly prevented herself. “The whitelighter Piper brought here to heal you. My name is Paige Matthews.”

“Leo left to get Phoebe, remember?” Piper asked. “So he couldn’t heal us, which is why I needed Paige, but Leo and Phoebe will be coming back soon and we have to be out of here before they do!”

Prue shook her head, trying to process everything.

“Please, Prue, just trust us. There’s no time to think; we have to get out of here. Just take our hands, please?” she sighed, remembering what Coop said about the system correcting herself. She had no idea if Prue would be able to time-travel with them, but she had to try. “I just hope this works.”

Prue shrugged as her two visitors helped her stand. Piper used her other hand to put Coop’s ring near her heart and concentrated hard on Phoebe, sighing with relief when she could still feel Prue’s hand when everything turned to pink fuzz.

Piper had no idea what would happen when Leo and Phoebe only found Piper and not Prue. She just hoped they could do what they had to do to save Phoebe, save the Power of Three, and then put Prue back where she belonged, during this time when Piper was still unconscious and Leo and Phoebe were still in the Underworld with Cole, even if that meant that she would lose her big sister yet again.

~~~

As their surroundings become clear, Piper, Paige and Prue were surprised to find themselves not at the manor at night, but in a playground in the middle of the day. Kids were playing everywhere, especially having fun running through a fountain.

Prue, Piper and Paige slowly stood up. Piper looked around, scratching her head. “That's odd. Where are we?”

Prue looked up to see an electronic billboard flashing the date for an upcoming 49ers football game. “Try 2012”

“What?” Paige exclaimed.

Before either Prue or Piper could reply, a young woman approached them, looking a lot like Phoebe, but one who had very long dark-black hair and was dressed very conservatively for their wild and crazy sister.

“Phoebs?” Prue cautiously asked.

“There you are,” Phoebe grinned, now looking more like herself. “I was expecting the three of you.”

Taking a glance at Prue, Piper started stuttering. “Wh…what, h…how...? Why?”

Phoebe’s grin grew larger. “You told me six years ago this would happen. That you met Future Me. Incidentally, that was right after I just finished talking to Past Me, and Past Me just left. I was Past Me, but now I’m Future Me.”

Paige scratched her head. “What? I don't get it.”

Phoebe started snickering. “Don't even bother trying to figure it out, Paige. It will just give you a major headache.”

“Wait a minute!” Prue cried. “I don’t get something else. Piper said you were dying and you look pretty alive to me. By the way, who does your hair? It's amazing!”

Piper growled as she elbowed her older sister.

Phoebe spread her arms. “Well I'm living testament that I make it. What you need to concentrate on is using the Power of Three to destroy the Hollow once and for all. You need to go back to the moment of the battle and use it to vanquish the thing rather than just putting it back in its box. That’s what will get you Leo back and save our cousins.”

“Cousins? What cousins?” Piper asked. “How can we have cousins – Mom was an only child.”

Phoebe just smiled. “You'll see. Just remember that one of them is your true innocent and you’ll be fine.”

Just then a very pretty little dark-haired girl ran up to Phoebe. “Mommy!”

Phoebe smiled, as she took the little girl’s hand. “This is Prudence. And Prue, she likes that name! Prudence, say hi to your aunties.”

Prudence smiled. “Hi, Auntie Piper, Auntie Paige, Auntie Prue.”

Prue smiled. “Another Prudence…your mommy chose a great name, although if someone named her daughter after me, I would’ve guessed that your mommy’s name was Piper.”

“Not when I had the first girl!” Phoebe smirked. “But now you really need to go. Just remember that the future is worth saving. Concentrate on getting back to the battle. Don't worry about me – just get rid of the Hollow and save our cousin!” and turning around, she and Prudence walked towards a car waiting not too far away.

Prue, Piper and Paige stared after them, still not having had a chance to digest all of this. Prue kept wondering why little Prudence had called Paige Auntie Paige the same way she’d said Auntie Piper and Auntie Prue, while Piper and Paige wondered why Prudence said Auntie Prue, the same way she had said Auntie Piper and Auntie Paige.

They held hands and as Piper brought the ring up to her heart and just as she began concentrating on the battle, she noticed Phoebe and little Prudence get into the car, little Prudence happily saying, “Daddy!” To her surprise, the man driving the car was Coop.

Before she could say anything about it to Prue or Paige, the scene pink-fuzzed out.

~~~

This time they appeared in the manor at the bottom of the stairs. Everywhere was quiet

Once more, Piper had a bad feeling that she knew what was about to happen. “Wait a minute. What day is it?”

Prue noticed a newspaper sitting on the little table that held the phone and the picture Grams took of her granddaughters the day she died. “How does May 25, 2006 hit you?”

“Figures. The day of the battle. We’re back in our time, Paige.”

Paige nodded. “Does that mean that at any moment my Hollow-possessed self will orb in your and Phoebe’s Hollowed-possessed self and anytime now, Billie and Christy’s Hollow-possessed butts will be coming down those stairs?”

Prue put her hands on her hips and tapped her toe impatiently. “Can someone fill me in? Details please!”

“Oh, Prue there’s so little time left! Anytime now, Phoebe is going to die and Paige and I are going to come close to dying. You’ll see us three appear and we’ll look weird because we’re possessed by the most powerful power known to mankind or even womankind for that matter, and we’re going to battle two women who are also possessed.”

“Long story short?” Paige asked. “Just like Phoebe told us, we need to use the Power of Three to stop the Hollow.”

“Well, okay, but after this you have a lot of explaining to do, Missy.”

Piper nodded. “We all survive it; we’ll explain it. Promise!”

Suddenly a portal started to form. “Incoming” Prue announced before turning to look at Paige. “You used a portal to bring them here?”

“Nope, not me. I orbed them here.”

“Well, that portal looks awful familiar to me…Piper! All Hallow’s Eve!”

“Prue! You’re right! But if we pop through that portal dressed in seventeenth century clothes, I’m going to scream!”

Paige just looked back and forth between the two, confused. But before she could say anything, suddenly Phoebe, looking just like she did when she died but very much alive, was flung through the portal.

“Oh. My. God!” cried Phoebe. “Prue! You’re alive!” at the same time Piper cried out. “Oh. My. God! Phoebe! You’re alive!”

Prue turned to look at Paige. "Was this supposed to happen?"

All Paige could do was shake her head. “As if this day wasn't weird enough…”

But before any of them could say a word, suddenly black orbs began to form.

“Hide!” Piper yelled and the four quickly ran behind the wall in the dining room.

Phoebe was still confused. “Why are we here at the battle? I was supposed to stop you guys from bringing Prue, not come here.”

Paige shrugged. “Too late. How did you manage to come back from the dead? I could sense you, but I couldn’t see you.”

“Long story, will explain later.”

The black orbs vanished to reveal Past Paige holding hands with Past Piper and Past Phoebe. All three had empty eye sockets, proof that all three were possessed by the Hollow.

Prue glared at this sight, then turned her glare on Paige. “All right – who are you that you’re with them and where am I?”

Paige glanced at both Piper and Phoebe, and they slowly nodded.

“All right, I’ll admit it. They reconstituted the Power of Three with me.”

Prue stared at her, that “What. The...?” look on her face, but she quickly shook her head, clearing it as she came back to her senses when she saw Past Billie and Past Christy, also both with black, empty eyes, coming down the steps. “Okay, guys, let’s table this for now. I think we better do what Future Phoebe told us to do right now.”

“Huh?” Phoebe asked. “What is this about Future Phoebe?”

“Later, Phoebs,” Prue told her. “Just know we gotta vanquish the Hollow, not put it back in its box. And I hope that makes a lot more sense to you than it does to me!”

“But do what?” Piper asked. “We don’t have a plan.”

“Well I do. Freeze them, Piper!”

“Freeze? I don’t freeze; I explode things now. Besides I can’t freeze good witches!”

“Well, I don’t think you want to explode those five, well, at least not three of them, and tell me,” Prue demanded, “do they look like good witches to you?”

“No…” Piper took a deep breath. “Okay, Prue...” And flicking her hands in a way that she hadn’t done in nearly five years, she was surprised when even as all five hollow-eyed witches raised their hands to shoot power at each other, they froze in place.

“Now what?” Paige asked.

“We do this. I’ve been working on it ever since Future Phoebe told us what to do.” Even as she spoke, Prue dragged Piper and Phoebe towards the two sets of frozen getting-ready-to-fight empty-eyed sisters, while Paige tagged behind.

Phoebe preened. “I save the day! Well, my future self does.”

Paige rolled her eyes while Piper was smiling, remembering Prue’s direct and offensive attacks, wishing she could’ve been more like her big sister during the five years when she led the Charmed Ones. “Oh, have I missed this!”

Once they were between the two parties, Prue first had Piper refreeze them, then instructed, “Okay, everyone, hold hands and let’s start chanting our good old standby. It’s never failed us before; I don’t think it will fail us now.”

“Uh, Prue,” Phoebe reminded her. “It’s Piper, Paige and me who are Charmed now…Shouldn’t we do it?”

“Maybe, but I’m Charmed, too. And what is the worst that can happen? Either way, if indeed you managed to reconstitute the Power of Three without me, that means that between the four of us, we have two sets of the Power of Three here, especially with me standing on this side of Piper and Phoebe and you standing on that side, Paige.”

Even as the two sets of possessed sisters unfroze, the four time-travelers began chanting, “The Power of Three will set us free.”

At the same time the Hollow tried to absorb the new powers that had come into the room.

But the four time-travelers kept chanting and two force fields appeared, forming an interlocking double shield, one over Prue, Piper and Phoebe, and the other over Paige, Phoebe and Piper.

“Don’t stop!” Prue yelled. “Keep chanting!”

A strong cold wind began swirling around the four time-travelers, like a storm was about to break out. It was the Hollow, trying to draw the energy of the force field but instead the field absorbed the Hollow.

Then all of a sudden Past Piper, Past Paige, Past Phoebe, Past Billie and Past Christy felt the Hollow trying to leave them. They were forced to their knees and against their will, the Hollow was pulled out of them and instead was absorbed into the energy shield.

Suddenly the shield exploded, but unlike the explosion that had destroyed the manor, it didn’t destroy it; just giving it a very strong shake as if it had been hit by an earthquake, throwing everyone in different directions.

Past Piper, Past Phoebe and Past Paige, now Hollow-free, slowly stood up as did Past Christy and Past Billie, also Hollow-free, even as Future Billie, who had finally come to, came down the stairs, facing her past self. They looked at each other, shocked, and as Past Billie touched Billie to see if she was truly real, there was a spark and they merged together into one form, looking just like Billie.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Prue. “What was that?”

“I don’t know but I still feel the same,” Billie told them. “I'm the one who came down the stairs. I came from the future after the battle.”

“Maybe the past and future cannot coexist,” Phoebe suggested. “The future one takes over.”

Even though she was now Hollow-free, Past Piper was still angry at Billie and Christy, especially since she’d figured out that the only way they could’ve called on the Hollow was by using her son. She flung her arms, activating her powers of explosion, but nothing happened.

“My powers aren’t working,” she growled. “Someone get rid of those two!”

“Lamp!” Past Paige called, but for once the lamp stayed put. “Mine aren’t working either.”

“And I can’t tell what they’re feeling,” Past Phoebe admitted.

Prue nodded. “Looks like the Hollow took your powers with it. But we still have ours. Piper! Freeze them!”

Piper flicked her hands and although Christy froze, Billie didn’t. “Are you sure I can’t explode them?” she asked.

Prue shook her head. “If Billie didn’t freeze, she can’t be evil. And if you explode Christy, well, if she’s a witch, that’s murder.”

“But she’s evil! I don’t destroy her; she’ll destroy us!”

“Well, go ahead and do it once I’m gone, but not while I’m here, okay?”

“Deal!”

Then all of a sudden no touching was required. Past Paige, Past Phoebe and Past Piper all merged into their future selves.

Paige shook her head in amazement. “Now that's something you don't see every day.”

[Esmeralda]

CHAPTER THREE

“Great,” Prue smiled. “Does everyone still remember everything? Trip to the past and future and all?” and everyone acknowledged remembering

Suddenly Christy unfroze, angrier than a wet hen. "Come on, Billie. Let’s go.” And she threw a potion vial to the ground but even though it broke, nothing happened

Piper quickly froze her again. “Now can I explode her?”

“Piper!”

“All right; all right.”

Phoebe was thinking about it. “I guess since she’s the only one who died but didn’t come back, she's the only one who doesn't have her powers anymore – for the rest of us, our powers were with our future selves.”

“Well, that’s good.” To their surprise, it was Billie who spoke. “Because I know that I sure don’t want my powers anymore even though I can tell that I still have them. We need to talk but let me first take care of Christy since she’s no longer magical.”

Before Piper could object again, Billie picked up her sister’s still-frozen body, closed her eyes and they both disappeared.

“So she’s finally mastered the use of her teleportation,” Paige marveled. “Right when she wants to give it up.”

“I still think I should explode her,” Piper grumbled.

“No, you don’t, Piper,” Phoebe told her. “I’m not sure why, but I seem to have my empathy power back and I could sense a deep change in Billie. I think she has come around and without her powers, Christy is no longer a threat.”

Piper gave a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” and Prue smiled proudly at her younger sister. “But I still don't see Leo,” Piper continued to find something to grumble about. “Besides, I still have questions about what you told us.”

“What?”

“No, not you. Future You. You know what? Just forget it. If we’re supposed to know, we’ll figure it out eventually.”

“Well, I thought I needed something explained before the battle,” Prue told her. “But I think I figured it out on my own.”

“What’s that?” Paige asked.

“You. You’re our half-sister, and Sam is your dad, right?”

Paige stared at her in shock, as did Piper and Phoebe, but Paige slowly nodded. “Yes, I am. How did you figure that out?”

“Well, I’ve figured out that if you and Piper hadn’t gone back in time and if you hadn’t healed me, I would’ve died. You were able to heal me just like a whitelighter. So that has to mean that one of your parents is one. But you were also able to be part of our Power of Three Times Two thingy, so that has to mean that our mom is your mom. That has to mean that you’re hers and Sam’s.”

“Brilliant, Prue!” Phoebe complimented her.

“Well, I think I would’ve figured it out when little Prudence called her Auntie Paige the same way she called me Auntie Prue and called Piper Auntie Piper,” and Phoebe, putting two and two together and coming up with four, stared at her in shock, mouthing the word “Ladybug?!!!”

“But you said your name was Paige Matthews, not Paige Halliwell.”

“Long story, but I was adopted out. Grams didn’t know if you guys would get your powers if the Elders found out that Patty and Sam had, well, had me.”

Prue rolled her eyes. “I guess that’s what we get for going back in time to the 70’s and letting Grams and Mom find out that we were going to be Charmed! You could’ve grown up with us!”

“And that would’ve been great. But I also had great parents. I wouldn’t give up my memories of them for anything.”

“I just wish we could’ve gotten to know you before I died, Little Sis,” and Prue reached out to give Paige a big hug. Paige hesitated for just a moment before reaching out and hugging her back, while Piper and Phoebe sighed in joy before joining the hug.

No sooner did they than Phoebe, who had been dreaming about Ladybug the whole time and searching her heart but had waited for Prue and Paige to have their moment, now yelled out, “Coop!”

The big pink heart appeared and vanished to reveal the cupid. Seeing Phoebe, he smiled happily. “You’re back?” When?"

Phoebe reached out to give him a big hug. “Don't you watch what's going on up there?”

Suddenly a small ball of light, looking much like Tinkerbell, entered the manor through the garden. It turned into the Angel of Destiny and this time she had Leo with her. He looked surprised to see Prue, but everyone else was thrilled to see him.

“So this is truly it?” Piper asked, afraid to believe it. “The battle is finally really over?”

The Angel of Destiny smiled. “Yes, Piper, this is just as I saw it even though there are a few unforeseen consequences thanks to your trip to the past,” and she looked pointedly at Prue. “But I leave it up to you and your sisters to fix it.”

Prue stared back at the Angel even as Phoebe stepped over to her big sister and hugged her, not wanting to let her go.

"But for now everything is the way it should be. Congratulations,” and the Angel of Destiny left in her usual way.

As the realization that the battle was truly over began to sink in, Phoebe couldn’t help wondering if this was a good time to tell them what happened to her and about that contract that she had to sign, but quickly decided not to ruin everyone’s good mood with such horrible news, especially when she knew she still had a lot of time.

Meanwhile, knowing that for sure she wouldn’t see him taken from her again, Piper hurried over and gave her husband a huge hug and kiss, letting him know how much she loved him and how much she had missed him. Then he had to go over to welcome Prue with a hug. “So where did you come from?”

“2001. Right after the Shax attack.”

“What?” Leo stared at her in shock, surprised that she could say it so calmly, then turned to his wife, a “What the…” look on his face. “Piper...?”

Prue shrugged. “Yeah, I figured it out. I was supposed to die. But hey, maybe this was also meant to be.”

Piper looked at her, tears in her eyes. “Oh, Prue.”

Again Prue shrugged. “It's alright. I know everything happens for a reason.” And she turned to smile at Paige. “When one door closes, another opens, right?”

At that, Paige ran over and gave her oldest half-sister a huge hug, happy tears already rolling down her cheeks. "I always wanted to meet you, Prue"

Meanwhile Piper couldn’t help wondering if bringing Prue back meant they were in a different timeline, maybe one that she’d get to stay in, especially remembering how well little Prudence seemed to know her Auntie Prue as well as her Auntie Paige and Auntie Piper. But…that darn Angel had made it so clear that that simply wasn’t so. She was just so confused.

Thinking of her future niece reminded Piper that her own sons were still at her dad’s. She turned to her half-sister. “Paige, could you go get Wyatt and Chris for me?”

“Wyatt? Chris?” Prue asked, looking up from hugging Paige. “Who are they?”

Piper’s face lit up like a sun. “They’re my sons.”

“Sons? As in your and Leo’s sons?” When Piper nodded, Prue asked, “How can that be? I thought Warren women only had daughters! And what about that little girl in the future, Melinda? You know something? It doesn’t matter – I’m an aunt!”

The scene made Paige laugh. “You’ll see your nephews shortly, Prue…and someone else. From what Piper’s told me, I really hope you’ll be happy to see him….”

And even as Prue’s mouth turned from a bright smile to confused frown, Paige orbed out, soon returning with not only her half-nephews but also their grandfather.

Paige didn’t tell Victor about the surprise awaiting him and now he stared at his oldest daughter in shock. “Prudence! I mean, Prue! Thank God you’re alive!”

Although Prue was busy drinking in the sight of her two adorable nephews, hearing her father’s voice, she looked up. “Victor,” and she gave him a quick hug. When he hugged her back, suddenly all of her feelings of abandonment left her and she hugged him tighter. “Daddy.”

“But how?”

It's a long story, Dad,” Phoebe told him. “We’ll catch you up later.”

Just then the doorbell rang. When Paige answered it, she found “Henry! Hey! What are you doing here?”

Henry looked at her, confused. “What am I doing here? Looking for my wife who didn’t come home last night. Are you okay?”

Paige gave him her happiest smile. “We are more than okay, because our future is now okay, so we are totally okay!”

Henry nodded, “Okay,” and then followed her into the living room.

“Who’s that?” Prue asked Piper.

“Paige's husband.”

“Hmm, is he magical?”

“Worse. A mortal.”

“Oh good God. A mortal marries a whitelighter? That's even worse than a certain couple of witches and their whitelighters.”

Prue squinted her eyes, and Piper quickly hit her. “Behave! If it wasn’t for one of those couples, she wouldn’t be around. Besides, Leo lost his wings; he’s not a whitelighter anymore, even if I must admit that I think we’d both be a lot happier if he was. And Henry accepted Paige as a witch and a whitelighter right away…unlike Andy, if you’ll remember properly."

“I remember….all too well.”

“Actually they’re a pretty good couple.

“Okay. What about Phoebe?”

“Well, you remember Phoebe with Cupid, right?”

Prue rolled her eyes. “How could I forget?”

“Well, now there’s Coop…”

“Coop?” Phoebe asked. “What about Coop?”

“Yeah,” added Coop, still holding her. “What about Coop?”

“Phoebe, we went to the future and saw Future You with little Prudence in the park.”

“Oh, you saw my future, too? Like the one that I saw after touching Baby Chris’ blanket? How cool is that?”

“Yep, from what I can tell, it must’ve been right after you visited.”

Then, after hugging Leo again and glancing at Paige still in Henry’s arm, Piper decided to give her baby sister a push, since she knew by now that although Paige might be Patty’s baby, since she didn’t grow up with them, Phoebe would always be the baby of the Halliwell family. “Coop, I saw you driving the car Phoebe and little Prudence to into and Prudence said the word ‘Daddy’. So I'm just saying…”

Coop grinned as he looked at Phoebe, knowing he started loving her when he first laid eyes on her

For the first time in her life, Phoebe Halliwell was completely speechless.as she stared at her older sister in shock. “Wait!” she managed to utter. “You think me and Coop? No. That's not possible. How can you be sure?”

“Phoebe, I know what I saw…”

“Phoebe,” Coop spoke up. “Maybe we should discuss this in private. Remember the talk we needed to have about Cole…”

“No. I mean, yes, I want to talk about Cole, but my future doesn't go beyond a year unless I can break the contract that got me here!”

“Contract!” squeaked Piper. “What contract? What are you talking about? And what does Cole have to do with any of this?”

Before Phoebe could answer, suddenly Billie appeared back in the manor in the midst of them. “I told you I’d be back,” and everyone turned their attention to the bleached-blonde.

“What do you want?” Piper demanded while the others watched.

“I just want to talk. Look, I’m sorry for all I did to you guys. We were being manipulated and I didn't know, but now I do. I want to make it up to you guys if you are willing to accept my help.”

“Where’s Christy?” Phoebe wanted to know.

“Somewhere safe where she can’t hurt you and you can’t find her to seek revenge.”

“We don’t want revenge, Billie,” Paige gently told her. “After all, technically you’re still my charge.”

“Ha,” Piper snorted. “Speak for yourself, Missy.”

This time it was Prue who hit Piper in the arm.

“Ow! Prue!”

“Let’s give her a chance and hear what she has to say.”

Billie stared at the speaker. “You’re Prue? But I thought…”

“Hey, we are not here to talk about that,” Phoebe interrupted. “Look, Billie, I can feel that you have had a chance of heart, but if you truly want our forgiveness after what you did after all we did for you, it will require action and not words.”

“Anything,” Billie insisted. “I’m even willing to give up my powers. It has brought me nothing but trouble.”

“I support that,” and Piper immediately raised her hand. “Strip her powers right now.”

“Piper, be nice!” Again it was Prue’s turn to hit Piper’s arm. “She’s really hurting; can’t you see it in her eyes?”

“And I can feel it,” Phoebe added. “All of it.”

Prue smiled at her baby sister, then turned to Billie. “Okay, Billie, we are willing to take you up on your offer.”

Piper stared at her in shock. “We are?”

“Piper….” Prue snapped before turning back to Billie. “But before we go down that road, I want to know more about you. I mean, I’m curious. How can your family be so powerful? Years ago, Grams told me that in order for us to have such strong magical powers requires coming from a very strong magical lineage of Good, and there are not that many of those.”

Billie shrugged. “Christy and I got them from our mother’s family.”

Phoebe grinned at Prue. “Another matriarchal line, huh?”

Prue grinned back, then turned back to Billie. “So, who is your mother? Her maiden name?”

“Oh, maybe no one told you. She was killed not all that long ago.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry! We lost our mom when we were young, too.”

“Yes, I know – I read about it in the Book of Shadows. Both my mom and dad were killed just a few weeks ago. At first I thought it was your sisters’ fault but now I know that Dumain, the demon who told us that, was lying – it was thanks to him that they died, trying to turn Christy evil.”

“And her maiden name?” Prue repeated.

“She never talked much about her parents, but she grew up as Helen Johnson.”

“Johnson?” Phoebe interrupted. “But that’s…”

“A very common name,” Prue interrupted. “What were their names?”

“Gordon and Francine Johnson. I only found out a few weeks before she died that her parents came from a long line of witches. I guess she never told us because she never had any powers. But when Christy and I began to manifest ours…”

“Oh. My. God!” Phoebe exclaimed. “According to our family tree, Grams had a brother named Gordon Johnson, one she never talked a lot about.”

“But, but, what are you trying to say?” Billie asked, not catching on.

“It means you may be our cousin,” Phoebe gently told her.

“Second cousin, Phoebe,” Piper corrected. “Not cousin. That’s the second time you made that mistake and the first time you confused the tar out of us because unlike Grams, Mom doesn’t have any siblings.”

“Huh?” Phoebe was confused. “Second time? Anyway what’s the difference if they’re firsts or seconds? If it’s true, they are still our cousins, just like half or not half, Paige is still our sister,” and Paige smiled happily.

“So, how do we confirm this?” Piper wanted to know, still unwilling to accept the fact that the Jenkinses could be related to her.

“Where is the family tree?” Prue asked.

Paige grinned. “This is the best way to find out.” She held out her arms. “Warren Family Tree” she called and immediately the parchment orbed into her arms.”

“Wow!” cried Prue. “Now that is one cool power! Must be the whitelighter version of my TK!” and Paige grinned, happy that her oldest half-sister, she meant her oldest sister, liked her version of her oldest sister’s power.

While they were talking, Paige led them into the dining room, where she spread out the family tree on the dining room table. She was surprised to see an addition to the tree. Not only did it show the connection between Patty Halliwell and Victor Bennett and their three daughters as it always had, it also showed the connection between Patty and Sam Wilder and their daughter: her. Now for sure she felt like a member of the family in a way she never really had before.

The others were looking at a different entry. Phoebe reached out to trace the connection between Penelope Johnson and Allen Halliwell and then the line connecting Penelope to her parents, Gordon and Patience Baxter, and then the line that connected them to their son, Gordon Johnson II, and his wife, Francine Bowen.

“It’s true!” she cried. “You’re a Warren, Billie! Just like us!”

Piper shook her head in reluctant amazement. “That is so weird. How come Grams never mentioned her brother? She always behaved like men were never born into the Warren line…”

“Really?” Prue asked.

Piper rolled her eyes. “Her exact words to me when she held Wyatt were: ‘What went wrong? We always had girls!’ That’s almost as bad as telling me that Halliwell women kept their maiden name when Penelope Johnson Halliwell didn’t!”

“Well, Grams has some explaining to do,” Prue growled. She started walking towards the steps. “Let’s go summon her astral butt down here right now!”

“Wait!” cried Phoebe, grabbing her oldest sister’s shoulder. “Are you sure that’s’ a good idea?”

“Why ever not?” Piper wanted to know, also wanting to get the truth from Grams, still hoping that the Jenkinses were descended from some other couple named Gordon and Francine Johnson. Like Prue said, Johnson was a very common name, even if maybe Gordon and Francine weren’t.

“Because Prue is dead so technically she should be with Grams and Mom,” Phoebe pointed out. “What will Grams say when she sees Prue?

“Ohhh!” cried Prue. “I forgot that.”

“I say we do it,” Piper declared. “Grams always does this to us. First with hiding Paige from us; now this with her brother. No offense, Paige.”

“None taken.”

Leaving the males behind, the five young women headed for the attic. No one was surprised when it was Prue who reached the Book of Shadows first and found the proper page.

“Hear these words; Hear my cry,
Spirit from the other side.
Come to me; I summon thee.
Cross now the Great Divide.”

Soon white lights appeared and circled around in the midst of the girls. When they vanished, a glowing Penelope Johnson Halliwell, known to her family as Grams, appeared. Seeing who was had summoned her, she stepped out of the center ring, becoming a corporeal ghost. “Prue? Oh, Prue!” and she enveloped her oldest granddaughter in her arms. Then she turned to hug her other three granddaughters. “Oh, congratulations on finally finding her! Your mother and I are so proud of all of you.”

Piper and Paige exchanged glances. “We found her?”

“Of course! I don’t know how and I don’t know where but ever since the Source had her kidnapped after almost killing Piper, you’ve been looking for her.”

“What do you think she’s talking about?” Paige whispered to Piper.

Piper shrugged. “Looks like we changed the timeline. In this one, they think she was kidnapped. And for some reason or another, time didn’t fix itself.”

“Wait a minute, Grams,” Phoebe, who had never been told how Prue happened to be with them, was very confused. “You think she was what?”

“Not now, Phoebe,” Prue interrupted. “Please not now. Instead, Grams, what can you tell us about your brother?”

“My brother? I don’t have a brother. No males in our line.”

“Um, Grams,” and Phoebe shook her finger at her relative. “We’ve got the family tree spread out on the dining room table and it very clearly shows that you had a brother named after your father – Gordon the Second.”

[Esmeralda]

CHAPTER FOUR

For the first time that the Halliwells had known her, Penelope Halliwell looked very sheepish. “Oh, right, him. I try to forget about him as often as I can.”

“Why?” Prue asked. “Why didn't you ever tell us that you had a brother?”

Penny shrugged. “It’s something we never talk about. When Gordon was born my parents were so scared. They thought he was an Omen or even a warlock, just like I was afraid that Wyatt or Chris might be one. Yes, yes, Piper; I know they’re not, but you don’t understand. Men were so rarely born into our family. And he had no powers. They couldn’t figure out how that could possibly be. When he grew up and was old enough my parents shipped him off to boarding school and he never came back much after that. He had had enough of being told he wasn't magical and that boys weren't born to Warren mothers so he must be a mistake. But how did you ever find out about Gordon? And who is she?”

“This is my charge, Grams,” Paige told her. “Her name is Billie Jenkins and we think she might be your brother’s granddaughter, our second cousin.”

Penny turned to stare at Billie. “All I know is he secretly married one of his very distant cousins from the Bowen line, something else that angered my parents. All in his attempt to prove that males in the Warren family could have magical children, although his own kids weren't, which still tended to make them think that he wasn’t truly theirs.”

“Well, I’ve got news for you,” Piper told her, hating to admit it, but now knowing that she had to. “We think his kids’ kids do have powers and they make ours look like sneezing! Had his daughter had another daughter, I think they would’ve been the Charmed Ones rather than us, even if their powers aren’t Melinda Warren’s three. But with an extra daughter with a just-as-strong power, they would’ve been the most powerful witches the world had ever known, not us.”

Penny continued to stare

Paige took her charge by the hand and introduced them. “Penelope Johnson Halliwell, meet Billie Jenkins, daughter of Helen Bowen Jenkins, daughter of Francine Bowen Johnson.”

“And daughter of Gordon Johnson. Oh, Billie, I can see him in your eyes,” and Penny reached out to hug her grandniece.

“I also have an older sister,” Billie told her, hugging her back. “Christy. We both had powers.”

“Had?” Penny leaned out of the hug to look Billie in the eyes. Grams: “What do you mean?”

“Well, Christy lost hers in the big battle we just fought and mine, well, I still have them right now but I want to give them up.”

“Oh, no; please don’t do that. You are a living testament that male Warrens can have magical children even if it might skip a generation. Wait a minute. Billie. I remember the Elders talking about you. Didn’t they give you to Paige as her charge, but didn’t you turn against the Charmed Ones?”

“Yup,” Piper nodded. “That would be them.”

Penny rolled her eyes. “Sibling rivalry, even among second cousins. Girls, we cannot have that in the Warren family. No wonder the Elders were concerned. The Charmed legacy and the whole Warren line could have ended!”

“Well, now we know,” Piper nodded. “And had you told us about your brother and his non-magical family we might have figured this out a lot sooner when we found out that these two powerful sisters had parents with no powers. So, Grams, any more secrets you would like to share with us so we don’t have to go through all of this again in the future?”

“Well, if there are, it will be just as much of a surprise to me. But listen to me, Missy, do not take that tone with me!” She began to raise her arm as if to TK Piper across the room.

“Okay, Grams,” Paige quickly interrupted. “It was nice talking to you. See you later.”

“But I haven’t spent any time with my grandniece.”

“I think it’s more important that you first go find the spirits of your brother and his wife and their daughter, your niece, and her husband and make peace with them,” the ex-assistant social worker suggested. “Then maybe the Elders might let you all appear to Billie and Christy, the way my adopted parents were allowed to appear to me after I made peace with them.”

“Yes, I guess I do have an apology to make. And I’ll have to find my own parents so they will know…”

“Perfect. See you then.”

“Good-bye, Great-Aunt Penny.”

“Good-bye, Billie. I will be back with the rest of your family.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” as Penny stepped back into the circle, becoming a glowing spirit again. The white orbs appeared, circling around her and when they vanished, so did she.

“Okay,” Prue nodded. “That explains a lot.”

Phoebe shook her head in amazement. “No wonder the Triad wanted Christy and Billie so badly. What better weapon to use against us than our own relatives?”

“I’m so sorry,” Billie moaned.

“We forgive you,” Paige told her. ‘Right, Piper?”

“Yeah, I guess it wasn’t really your fault, Billie. And it really wasn’t Christy’s – after all, what would any of us be like if we were kidnapped by demons for that many years?”

Prue smiled. “Sounds like between these two, Christy is the innocent who Future Phoebe was talking about.”

Piper sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Okay, Billie, I promise. I won’t explode either of you,” and everyone laughed, everyone but Billie.

“I don’t care what Great-Aunt Penny said. I still don’t want my powers,” she insisted. “They’re too powerful.”

“Why don’t we bind them instead?” Phoebe suggested. “Then if you ever decide you do want them, we can unbind them, but if after, say, ten years, you find you still don’t, then we can bind them permanently.”

Billie quickly agreed, so Piper, the chief potion-maker of the Charmed Ones, quickly brewed the binding potion she had brewed for Tyler so many years earlier.

~~~

While Piper worked on the potion, Phoebe decided the time had come to talk with Coop. so she went downstairs in search of him. Finding him in the living room with the other men, she led him into the kitchen where they could have some privacy. “Okay, I’m ready to talk. What did you want to tell me?”

“That almost losing you has proven to me that I've loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you. And I want to make this work between us.”

“I love you, too, Coop; I know that now, and I also want to try to make this work, but Coop, that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Well, I’m thrilled that you’ve opened your heart to me, but now I’m curious. If that’s now what you wanted to talk to me about, what is?”

“About Cole. Tell me what you know about Cole.”

“Oh. Well. Cole Turner.”

“Yes, Cole Turner. C’mon, Coop. I deserve to know.”

“Yes, you do.” Coop took a deep breath and let it slowly out. “Well, I met him when he started working for my bosses.”

“What?” Phoebe stared at him in shock. “How could he work for your bosses? Cole is trapped in limbo on another plane I know. For a while I was trapped there with him.”

Coop nodded. “Yes he is. The Elders would not let him out of there because of all he did but he showed genuine repentance so the Elders gave him an opportunity to work and redeem himself. So they allowed him to work on special cases we cupids prefer not to work on. Demons who don’t want to be demons anymore and end up dying. Cole gives them a second chance to live on earth for a period of time to prove they can be good and feel love. If they pass then they move on up. If not they stay vanquished.”

“Ah. That explains how he was able to reach out to people in the underworld and Drake. But why does he work with other demons in order to resurrect demons like Drake?”

“The Elders didn't want to give him back those powers directly in case he tried to misuse them again, so instead they gave him access to fellow demons and sorcerers who had the power to resurrect dead spirits.”

“So where do you fit into all this? I can sense meeting you wasn't by chance.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Coop admitted. “Cole noticed how off-track you went after you went on that vision quest. All you could think of was finding the father of your daughter – you totally forgot about all of the things that are truly important. So first he tried sending his latest charge, Drake, to you, but when that failed, he went to the Elders and begged them to send me to you to help you find love since he felt guilty for your state of mind.”

Phoebe considered this. “Hmm. I bet you Cole was anticipating more than that. He knows I have a weakness for cupids – I told him about my brief encounter with one back before I met him. He’s the one who talked me into opening my heart which let me let Cole in.”

“So if he knew, why don’t we give it a try?”

“Baby steps, Coop. Baby steps. But now I know I won’t have to keep looking for Ladybug’s father…according to Piper, I’ve found him…”

Just then the door opened and in walked Piper. Both Coop and Phoebe broke out into laughter. “Speak of the devil…” Phoebe chortled.

Piper rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I have to let the potion cook and both Prue and Paige are keeping an eye on it, but while it does, you said you wanted to talk. What was all that about one year to live?”

Coop looked distressed. “Yeah, I want to know about that, too.”

Phoebe looked at both of them, then took a deep breath before letting it slowly out. “Well, while I was supposedly dead I was with Cole and he offered to hook me up with a sorcerer to get a second chance of life like he did with Drake so I took the deal.”

Coop nodded, understanding. “Just like Drake, it’s only for one year.”

Piper stared at both of them. “Phoebe....?”

“Coop, that’s why I can’t marry you; we have to grab happiness while we can! And, Piper, hey, I heard you and Paige say that you hoped that I was with Cole because then I’d be safe. And I was.”

“Yeah, and you’re right; I’m not mad about that. But I am mad about the other thing. You should’ve gotten Cole to find a way to let us know what was up so we could’ve tried to figure a way of bringing you back without you needing to sign some stupid contract. Prue, Paige and I could’ve stood under the chandelier and then use the Power of Three to bring you back.”

“Wouldn’t have worked, Piper. If that was the case, you wouldn’t have had to go back and save Prue…I’d already be gone! Believe me, if there was any other way, I would’ve taken it. But this was my only chance.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. But now we need to figure out how to break that contract without you dying. But first we need to go upstairs. Billie’s potion should be ready.”

Coop reached out to hug Phoebe. “Don’t worry. I have faith in your sisters. They will find a way, I’m sure. And don’t forget the little girl they saw in the future who called me Daddy. Her mommy was very much alive. And her mommy is going to be my wife; I swear it!”

Phoebe gave him both a hug and a kiss and then she and Piper returned to the attic. As they did, Piper swore, “He’s right, Phoebe. We saw you and him and your daughter, little Prudence, and she definitely was quite a bit more than just a year old. I don’t know how, but we will figure a way.”

“Yeah, I know we always do. But what about Prue? What will we do with her? We can’t send her back! That would be like committing suicide!”

“One problem at a time, Sis. First Billie, then you, and then Prue. But you’re right. I’m not too keen on sending her back either. But I’m much more concerned what the Angel of Destiny would do if we tried to keep her.”

Suddenly Coop called to Piper from the bottom of the stairs. The two stopped to look back at him.

“Hey, Piper! Aren't you forgetting something?” and the cupid pointed to his hand.

“What? Oh! Your ring.” She pulled it out of her jeans pocket. “Here,” and she threw it down to him. “Thanks” and then she turned back and she and Phoebe continued up the stairs.

“You were carrying that thing in your pocket all this time?” Phoebe asked.

Piper shrugged. “I totally forgot I still had it.”


Up in the attic, Paige stood next to Prue, who was flipping through the Book of Shadows, explaining to her oldest half-sister all of the entries that had been added since Paige became part of the family.

Prue shook her head in amazement. “I can't believe how big this book has gotten. Boy did I miss a lot! You guys vanquished Shax. Dealt with Lazarus demons whatever those are, and vampires? You guys kick butt.”

“Totally,” Phoebe grinned as she and Piper walked into the room.

“So are we ready to de-power the Ultimate Power?” Piper asked.

Paige held up a potion vial. “One power-binding potion. Check,” and she walked it over to her charge who was sitting nervously on the couch. She now jumped up, eager to get this over with.

Before giving her the vial, Paige had to check with her charge one more time. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

Billie nodded. “Positive.”

Paige smiled, as she handed the vial to her. “Okay, hon. Drink up. I made it cherry-flavored. I remember you saying it’s your favorite.”

“Yeah, it is,” and Billie quickly drank the potion.

All four Charmed Ones looked at her curiously.

“Well?” Piper asked.

Billie closed her eyes, trying to teleport herself.

Nothing.

Then turning to the flowers that Piper had recently replaced, she tried to make them die, but that didn’t work either. She grinned, relieved. “I think my powers are gone.”

Prue nodded. “So it worked.”

“So, where are you going to go now?” Paige wanted to know, still concerned about her charge, even if she was certain that Billie was no longer her charge. “Do you want me to take you anywhere?”

Billie shook her head. “No, don't worry; I'll find my way. You guys have a lot to deal with after everything I put you through. Although school is out so I may go back home and deal with what my parents left behind, and I still have to help Christy get over not having powers. I don't really want to face either of that yet, but I guess I gotta,” and she turned to walk towards the attic door.

“Billie, wait!” Phoebe called. “You don't have to go back home if you’re not ready. You and Christy can stay at my place if you’re willing to abide by my rules, and if you’re willing to help her abide by them.”

“You’d really do that?” Billie ran and threw herself at Phoebe. “Thank you; thank you. I promise I will behave and stay out of your way, and I’ll make sure that Christy will, too. Without her powers that shouldn’t be hard. And if she still thinks you guys are evil, well, maybe I’ll have to get used to not having a sister…”

Phoebe’s grin turned sad as she glanced at her own sisters. “I hope that’s not the case. At least bring her to my place and maybe between the two of us…”

Billie hugged her again and Phoebe’s grin returned as she handed Billie an extra set of keys. “Okay. Go before I change my mind,” and after another hug and a thanks to the other three Charmed Ones, and an extra hug for Paige, Billie finally left.

Paige smiled at Phoebe. “That was nice of you. Thanks.”

Phoebe shrugged: “It’s the least I can do. And they’re our cousins…” Piper cleared her throat loudly. “Okay, okay, our second cousins, and I just think it's better for one of us to keep an eye on them instead of letting them go off and maybe getting into no good again. And you and Henry are newlyweds, while Piper has the two boys, so it makes sense that I do this.”

“Do you really think you can help her convince Christy that we’re good?”

“If I can convince her that it was Dumain who killed her parents and not us, yeah, I think I can.”

Even as she talked, Prue and Piper approached their baby sister. Phoebe looked back and forth between the two, wondering what was going to happen now.

Prue, being the big sister, spoke first. “So, what's going on with you, Phoebs? While you and Piper were downstairs, Paige filled me in about your death experience in what I guess we can call the unchanged future and your miraculous return from the dead.”

“And then there’s this deal with a sorcerer with Cole's help…” Piper added.

“Cole, Phoebe?” Prue asked, her disgust clear in her voice. “Do you trust him? Because I don’t.”

“Cole isn't the same person he was when you last saw him,” Phoebe insisted. “Besides, it was my only option at the time.”

“But how do you know Cole doesn't have an ulterior motive?” Prue insisted, obviously thinking that that’s why Cole had done what he did. “For all we know, his plan is for you to be stuck with him in Limbo for eternity. For him, it's always been about you.”

Phoebe considered it, but then firmly shook her head. “I don't think so, Prue. Not this time.” She turned to her other sister. “What do you think Piper? You met him.”

“She what?” a confused Paige asked.

“Nevermind, Paige – I’ll explain later.” Piper now turned to Phoebe. “He may be helping you by giving what you need now, Phoebe, but I asked him about having an ulterior motive and he didn’t confirm or deny, so I have to take that as an admission of guilt. And Prue’s right. His prime goal has always been getting you back.”

As she talked, Prue walked back to the Book. “Can you ID this sorcerer demon if you saw his picture?”

Phoebe shrugged as she joined Prue. “Of course, but how will that help? Demons like him have these deals signed in a contract, and contracts like that are not easily broken. And I don't think this sorcerer did any contract-signing himself since I never saw it, so it had to be Cole or someone else.”

Paige nodded. “Phoebe's right, Prue. I've dealt with demons like this, and you cannot break their contracts by simply vanquishing the demon.”

Frown lines marred Piper’s smooth forehead. “And if I remember correctly, the last demon we dealt with before we got in this Ultimate Battle deal - I believe his name was Zhan,” and Paige nodded.

“What about him?” Prue asked.

“Well, when we destroyed his contracts, it just made the souls move on. I don’t think we want that, do we?”

Phoebe shuddered. “Definitely not. I want to stick around with you guys as long as I can – especially after you saw me with Coop and Ladybug!”

“Fine,” Prue firmly nodded. “Then we find the demon and kick his butt until he tell us how to undo his contract, and if he won’t, we’ll make him hand over the contract if he has it and we read all the very-fine print and figure it out later.”

As she spoke, Prue was flipping through the pages of the Book of Shadows. Suddenly Phoebe grabbed her arm. “That's him, Prue. That's the sorcerer Cole took me to."

[Esmeralda]

CHAPTER FIVE

"Potion sorcerer,” Prue read. “A high-level demon that specializes in creating hard-to-make potions in exchange for powers or souls that he in turn sells to the highest bidder who wants them.” She rolled her eyes, “Yada, yada, yada,” as she quickly skimmed down the page. “He can be vanquished with the Power of Three.”

She quickly started handing out tasks. “Okay, Paige, I need you to start scrying.”

“We can’t scry for evil,” Phoebe interrupted.

“Well, there is a scrying potion here.”

Paige nodded, accepting her task, coming over to write down the few ingredients. “Doesn’t even need brewing. Piece of cake,” and she began gathering ingredients.

“Piper, you're coming with Paige and me,” Prue continued. “After seeing how well you can now control your firepower, we could use it, and we need her to orb us to his lair.”

“And me?” Phoebe asked.

“You stay here where we’re the strongest. I want to be sure nothing happens to you.”

Phoebe looked ready to disagree, but quickly acquiesced.

“Are you and I going in with a plan?” Piper wanted to know.

“Who needs a plan?” Prue asked. “We kick butt.”

“And while you guys go kick butt,” Phoebe added. “I’m going to make up some defensive potions in case some other demon comes after me while you guys are kicking the potion sorcerer’s butt.”

Prue nodded. “Good plan.”

“Well, maybe hers is,” Piper commented, “But I don’t like ours.”

But before Prue could respond, Paige, who’d been using the potion to scry, called out “Got him! Found his lair!” and she grabbed both Prue and Piper’s hands and orbed them out, leaving Phoebe behind in the attic.

~~~

Meanwhile, Cole was shocked to see what the Charmed Ones were planning to do to his favorite sorcerer demon, so he quickly shimmered to his lair.

The potion demon smirked. “Ah, the cursed one returns. What do you need now, Belthazor?”

“I don’t need anything. Just here to warn you that two of the Charmed Ones and their maybe-still-Charmed sister are on their way here to probably torture and kill you. I would prefer you alive and able to assist me, so I'm giving you a heads up.”

“What do they want?”

“Probably a way to break the contract we hold on the other Charmed One, their sister, Phoebe.”

“No problem because that’s impossible. It's either live for a year or die now. There are no other options.”

“But they don't know that, or if they do, they won’t accept it. They have a thing about believing that things will always work out – and they usually do. Good luck,” and when orbs flew into the lair, he quickly shimmered out.

Even as the orbs began to form into the three witches, the sorcerer quickly threw an herb into his cauldron and four well-built demons appeared in front of him, acting as demonic shields.

But before any of them could even form a fireball, Prue flung out her arm, sending one across the room against the wall, vanquishing him in flames, while Piper blew up another one. The third one managed to form and throw a fireball, but Paige quickly called for it and ricocheted it back at him, vanquishing him.

Seeing what happened to his comrades, the fourth one started to shimmer out, but Piper froze him before he could and then blew him up.

“Good riddance!” smiled Piper.

“But where’s the sorcerer” Paige asked. “And what’s wrong with Prue?”

Piper glanced at her older sister. “She astral projected!”

No sooner did she say that than Prue’s astral form returned to her body and she woke up. “He’s down the hall. I kicked him into the wall but he should be coming to soon. Paige?”

So Paige quickly orbed Piper and Prue to the spot, and no sooner did the demon stand up than Piper froze him before unfreezing just his head

“I'm sure you know who we are,” Piper warned. “Undo what you did to our sister Phoebe or you join those protector demons of yours in the Demonic Wasteland.”

“I can't,” the demon insisted. “And even if I could, it would only hasten her departure to the afterlife – she’d be gone today, not a year from today.”

“Give us her contract,” and Paige stretched out her hand.

“I would gladly give it to you - not that you can do anything with it - but all the contracts I make with him, he takes the contract.”

“Who?” Prue insisted.

“Belthazor.”

Paige shrugged. “Guess this guy is no use to us.”

Prue nodded. “Piper, blast him!”

“Are you sure?” Piper asked.

Prue nodded. “Yes, Piper. Do it!”

“Wait!” screamed the terrified sorcerer. “What if I give you a potion? Anything you want. Riches, love, a long life. No strings attached if you spare me.”

“Forget it,” and she blasted the sorcerer into smithereens. “Can you imagine that? Insulting us by trying to bribe me! Who does he think we are?”

“What do we do now?” Paige asked.

“We find Cole and kick his butt,” Prue growled.

“Wait,” and Piper held up her hand. “As much as I’m happy you’re here and with you we are kicking butt just like we used to, Prue, but it's that kicking butt attitude that has got us in trouble over the years. Let's think about things before jumping into them.”

Prue shrugged. “What's there to think about? Find demon; vanquish demon. That's been our strategy all along. And if he’s the one who’s behind this damned contract, I can’t think of any demonic butt I’d want to kick more than Belthazor’s aka Cole Turner!”

“Except this demon is somewhere we can't go,” Paige reminded her. “Not unless we’re also dead! Let's go home and rethink our strategy.”

Prue sighed a huge sigh of defeat. “Yeah, I guess you guys are right. Paige?”

So Paige orbed them back to the attic where they found Coop and Leo talking with Phoebe.

“What happened?” Phoebe asked. “Did you get anywhere?”

“No,” Piper sighed unhappily. “I’m afraid that potion demon was no help. Apparently he can't undo what he did, and, besides, he said Cole has the contract.”

“Well, that makes sense, I guess, but how do we reach him? You got to be dead or dying to see him, and even if it did work against that alchemist, I, for one, don’t want me or any of you doing that, so don’t get any smart ideas, Prue!”

“Why not? I’m already dead in this time period.”

“No, remember? Grams think you were kidnapped, which means that everyone else in this time period thinks the same. That means there’s still a chance that you can stay here, and as long as there’s even a chance…”

“I have a different idea,” Prue suggested. “Why not bring Cole to us?”

Paige shrugged. “I guess it's worth a try. But if the Elders put him there, what’s powerful enough to get him out?”

“What's more powerful than the Power of Three?” “Or for that matter, the Power of Three Times Two,” Prue insisted. Didn’t we just prove that a short time ago?”

“Well, it might work,” Phoebe admitted, “But warning - once he's out, there is no going back.”

Piper nodded. “I would like my life Cole-free, thank you.”

“Oh, dear, no,” Prue exclaimed. “No way I intend for us to unleash Belthazor on our world. First we set up a circle of lit candles. Then we use the Power of Three to summon only his spirit – not him – to that circle. He’s stuck inside the circle while we ask him what we want. He will only be here as long as we maintain a Power of Three connection.

“I get it,” Phoebe nodded. “Like the ‘To Summon the Dead’ spell, but no corporeal spirit allowed.”

“Exactly.”

“And I know just the spell that will do that – with a little tweaking…”

~~~

Soon they were set up. Leo and Coop, who had quietly been watching all of this, wanted to know if they could help.

Prue shook her head, “No, we’ve got this, but thanks for the offer.”

For the first time Piper noticed something. “Leo? Where are the boys?”

“Down for their nap.”

“Oh, okay. Maybe you should go down and be with them when we cast this spell. We don't want them waking up upset especially if there is a lot of noise. If it requires us using the Power of Three Times Two we don't know what effects we will feel. It may upset the boys.”

Leo nodded. “Good thinking,” and he left, Piper watching him, more determined than ever to get this done and over with so she could be with her husband and her sons.

Coop also got up and started to leave. “Wait!” called Paige, as she also realized that she hadn’t seen someone for a while. “Where’s Henry?”

Coop stopped leaving to turn around. “I believe he’s outside on his cell phone. Work-related, I think.”

Paige quickly looked out the attic widow and smiled to see her Henry out on the porch deep in conversation. Her man was doing his normal parole officer work, helping her to keep a normal foothold on her life. Now more than ever she wanted to get this done and over with so she could be with her Henry. She spun to face her half-sisters. “Are we ready to do this?”

Piper shrugged. “As ready as we can be, I guess.”

Prue looked at each of them. “Okay, we all stand around the Book in age order. We'll try not to use the Power of Three Times Two if we don’t have to. Wouldn't want to overdo it, so we'll will start with Piper, Phoebe and me. If it doesn’t work then we'll try Piper, Phoebe and Paige. And if that isn't working, then all four of us. Got it?

Her two sisters and one half-sister, she meant her three sisters, nodded. “Got it.”

The four stood around the Book. Sitting on the Book was a pad of paper with Phoebe’s rewritten spell. Rather than the summon-the-dead one (she was afraid it would bring back a corporeal Cole), she had found the one to summon Belthazor. But since she didn’t want the demonic form of Cole Turner to appear, she’d rewritten it somewhat.

Prue quickly read it and nodded approvingly. “Three times,” she said and so the original Power of Three took hands and chanted:

“Magic forces, black and white
Reaching out through space and light
No matter where he now may be
Bring Cole Turner’s spirit here to we.”

After the third time, light wind rustled around the circle of five candles. At first they thought nothing was happening, but then they could see a very faint outline of an image of someone forming. The winds grew stronger, blowing paper and books. Even the sisters’ hair blew in their faces, but still the outline remained faint.

“Paige, I’m going to let go of Piper’s hand on three. You take Phoebe’s hand – we don’t want to lose what we already have.”

Paige nodded and Prue counted to three, letting go of Piper’s hand, breaking the original Charmed Ones’ connection at the same time Paige took Phoebe’s, forming the reconstituted Charmed One’s connection, and those three chanted Phoebe’s spell three times.

The wind kept swirling, growing stronger with each repetition, but the apparition was still blurry – they were still unsure if it was truly Cole and not Belthazor who they were summoning.

So understanding what had to be done and praying that once more it would work, Prue took Piper’s hand and all four chanted the spell.

Now the wind was really blowing strong and light thunder could be heard while larger objects were thrown around. The Power of Three Times Two was obviously having a very strong visible effect. The young women were almost blown backwards, just like during the original Ultimate Battle.

“Hold on!” Prue screamed over the racket. “And let’s chant it a fourth time!”

No sooner did they than suddenly lightning struck the center of the candle circle, momentarily blinding the four young women, but when they could see again, the winds had calmed down and the apparition in the center of the circle was very clearly that of Cole Turner.

“Ahhh,” he grinned. “You did it. For a second I thought you wouldn’t succeed but now I will never underestimate the Power of Three. And it's nice to see you brought Prue.”

Prue gave her sisters a nod, signaling them to maintain their connection. Part of her was afraid that breaking the connection would cause the apparition in their attic to fade again, so she inwardly sighed with relief when she let go of Piper’s hand and the apparition remained clearly Cole.

“Now, listen,” she started as she strode to the circle of candles. “You are stuck in this circle. You cannot step out of it and you are only here as long as we maintain our Power of Three connection, so I need you to answer fast. First of all--”

“You were always the direct one,” Cole interrupted her, earning him a glare. “I’ve missed that. Actually I haven’t. I know why you summoned me - you are looking for this, right?” and snapping his fingers, a piece of parchment magically appeared in his hand.

“Phoebe’s contract,” he continued. “I keep it close to me but unfortunately I cannot break the contract without sending Phoebe onto the afterlife, which means I’d never see her again. Believe me when I say that I want that as little as you do. I’d rather see her with you guys for a year than not at all.”

Cole glanced towards Phoebe and her empathy told her that her ex-husband was hurting deep down because he also didn’t know how to fix this problem. But it didn’t surprise her one bit when Cole, being Cole, maintained a know-it-all attitude when he turned back to Prue – his way of remaining strong against the most powerful Charmed One, Piper’s explosion power notwithstanding.

“There must be a way around it,” Prue insisted, refusing to admit defeat.

Cole sighed, “Yes, there is one way, but that would be for someone else to be willing to take her place in the afterlife. Any willing volunteers? Anyone else you have in mind? And remember, it has to be a living person, so it can’t be me. If I could, I would have done that right off the bat, but as is…”

“Cole Turner, I’ve always thought you were crazy; now I know you are!” cried Paige. “No way would we sacrifice someone else to Phoebe’s fate.”

“She’s right!” Piper agreed. “We will find another way using the Power of Three. We always do.”

Cole slowly, sadly shook his head. “Sorry, but the Power of Three won't work in this situation. These are signed contracts that spells and magic cannot break. It's either allowed to plays itself out either with the person who signed it or someone willing to take her place or it's broken early by tearing it up – but if that happens, the person who signed it or the person taking their place immediately dies and goes on to the afterlife and can’t be brought back – not even via a summoning spell. Tear up tis contract and you’ll never see Phoebe again.”

“Go to hell!” and an angry Piper let go of Phoebe’s hands and Cole’s spirit began to fade.

“Piper!” cried Phoebe, quickly grabbing her sister’s hand, and Cole’s spirit stopped fading. “No! Not yet!”

“She’s right, Piper,” Prue insisted. “Not yet. There is a way.” She turned back to their visitor. “Cole, use me. Switch Phoebe with me. I don't belong in this timeline anyway. I can live out the rest of the year, letting them have a year with me and letting me have a year with them, then move on, just like I should’ve when Shax killed me. That’s my fate, not this.”

“Prue, no!” Piper screamed. “That's crazy! No, I won't have it. I lost you once and I won’t lose you again! Especially if it means we’d never get to even summon you! End of discussion!”

“I want her to do this as little as you do,” Phoebe told Piper, “but I can feel how very strongly Prue wants to do this. You know our big sister, Piper…”

“Yeah, once she’s determined to do something, there’s no stopping her.”

“I support you, Prue,” Phoebe added. “And thanks.”

“I support you, too, Prue,” Paige added. “I’ll get a whole year with you when I never thought I’d get a single day.”

“Piper?”

“Well, I guess I support you, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it! And we’re going to use this whole year to make sure we don’t lose you, you hear?”

Prue smiled. “Whatever lets you let me do this. Go ahead, Cole.”

Cole nodded, glad that Phoebe had been saved, not particularly caring if Prue would be or not – that was up to the Power of Three, which he would never underestimate again.

Glancing at Phoebe, he admitted to himself that if she had been stuck with him in Limbo, either she would’ve driven him crazy or he would’ve driven her crazy – either way, it would’ve been hell – no worse than hell. He’d been there, done that, and this would’ve been way worse.

After one more quick glance at the woman he’d always love, he nodded at her oldest sister. “Okay. I need to call my deedkeeper.” He clapped his hand and the demon Zhan appeared. Unlike Cole, he wasn’t in the circle and he wasn’t a ghost.

Paige, Piper and Phoebe stared at the newcomer in shock. “Didn’t we vanquish your sorry butt two years ago when I traded my soul for my former boss’ soul?” Paige demanded.

Zhan smirked. “Oh, yes, you did, but you see, I was brought back by the Powers That Be. You see, my skills are of a unique variety and my services were needed.”

“And that is?” Prue demanded, pretty sure what they were, but wanting to be certain.

“To keep records of all the contacts made in the Underworld. After I was brought back I was isolated from the likes of people like you. But that’s beside the point. Let’s get on with it.”

“I am substituting Phoebe Halliwell’s name on this contract with Prudence Halliwell’s,” Cole formally informed the deedkeeper, sounding very much like his old lawyer self.”

The deedkeeper demon stretched out his own hand and Phoebe’s contract jumped from Cole’s hand to his. He waved his other hand, and a table and pen appeared between him and Prue.

He picked up the pen and handed it to Prue. “Sign here and here.”

Prue circled the table and took the pen, quickly signing the paper in the two places.

"Prue,” Piper insisted, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I swear it. We will keep looking for a way to be sure you get to stay with us a lot longer than just a year."

Prue turned to look at her. “You know I don't belong here. Even the Angel of Destiny said it, and we can’t go against her. This is the best way to make sure that you three live the lives you should live with no repercussions from her.”

Zhan picked up the signed contract, smirking at Prue again. “There, there, see? Now that wasn't so hard."

But even as he started to roll up the contract, Paige stuck out her hand. “Prue’s contract!” she called and it immediately orbed into her hand.

“No!” cried Zhan. “This is totally out of order! You return that this minute!”

“No way!” Paige insisted. “We get to keep it so we can figure a way around it.”

But Prue shook her head and walked over to her youngest sister and took the contract from her, holding it up. Before anyone realized what she had in mind, she ripped it up and as the pieces fell to the floor, so did she.

Zhan stared in shock. “Well, that was unexpected.”

[Esmeralda]

CHAPTER SIX

Piper, Phoebe and Paige broke their connection and ran to Prue as Cole’s spirit disappeared and the candles went out. Piper held her sister’s body as all three began to cry. “No, Prue! Why? Why? We could’ve have you for a full year! Now we can never have you!”

Suddenly Prue’s spirit rose above her body and looked down at her three sisters. “I'm sorry, but you would’ve wasted this entire year trying to figure out how to save me. I couldn’t have that on my conscience. This is for the best. I love you. Blessed be,” and her spirit floated up and disappeared even as her body, still in Piper’s arms, faded away.

“Zhan!” Paige demanded. “Put the contract back together! Bring back our big sister!”

Zhan smirked again. “Sorry - once it's broken, that’s the end of that one,” and he snapped his fingers again and disappeared, table and all, leaving Piper, Phoebe and Paige alone and crying.

But not for long. A certain cupid could feel Phoebe’s pain so he grabbed Leo and Henry, who had just finished his call, and heart-orbed them into the attic. They all ran to the young women kneeling on the floor crying and took them into their arms, trying to comfort their loves the best they could.

As they were crying and mourning Prue's death and her too-short-lived time with them, suddenly the three men froze in their spots.

“Piper!” cried Phoebe. “Did you do that?”

“Not me,” Piper insisted.

“No, I did.”

And looking up they saw an Angel of Destiny standing over them. But not the one who had taken and returned Leo – instead it was the same male who had appeared to them five years earlier.

As all three slowly stood up, Piper glared her most ferocious, despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. “What do you want now? You chose the wrong time to show up.”

“On the contrary. I believe I chose the perfect time. You see, you have now finished all the steps needed to forge your new destiny.”

Paige hunched her shoulders. “Are we going to be punished for healing Prue and then not putting her back?”

“Oh, you might have been, but since you all agreed to let her make her sacrifice for Phoebe, that has been forgiven.”

“Well, if this new destiny of yours is anything like the so-called ‘new destiny’ you gave us the last time, no, thanks!” Piper growled. “You made us think we were going to get to keep saving innocents when all we did was get stuck with constantly fighting demons and saving our own skin!”

“Yeah!” Phoebe agreed. “That’s not what our Charmed destiny is supposed to be about!”

“It’s supposed to be about helping people!” Paige added.

The Angel smiled. “All right, I admit it; that one didn’t quite turn out the way I thought it would. A Power That Be stuck some prophecy about a Twice-Blessed Child into the mix… But I assure you that a new Power That Be is in charge now and you will like this new destiny, because it not only concerns all of you; it also concerns Prudence.”

“But Prue’s dead!” Phoebe moaned. “Again!”

“Is she? Or isn’t she?”

“All right. Can the cryptic talk,” Piper growled, raising her hands, getting ready to blast the Angel no matter if she could or she couldn’t – she just knew how good it would make her feel if she tried. “Just lay it to us straight or I’ll blast you!”

“Very well, even if it wouldn’t have had much effect on me. Since you all have shown great courage during the Ultimate Battle, you have another chance to accept my previous offer five years ago. To continue your lives demon-free, but this time you will be allowed to keep your powers, so you can help other witches if they ever approach you for help.”

He turned to the youngest Charmed One. “Paige, if you wish to continue being a living whitelighter and protecting your charges, that you may do, too.”

“Well, yeah, I still want to be a whitelighter,” Paige said, “But this still feels like a downer for us after what just happened.”

“Oh, and that’s the other thing…”

The Angel waved his hand and a completely-corporeal Prue appeared next to him.

“Prue!” screamed Phoebe. “Oh, Prue!”

The Angel smiled. “Because Prudence showed great sacrifice and bravery in such a difficult circumstance we have decided to return her to you. But not as fully-human Prudence. As corporeal Prudence.”

“What?!” Piper exclaimed.

“She will still have her powers to help out if necessary with your Charmed work if the need ever arises. But again as I said, demon fighting will be very rare going forward, especially demon-fighting requiring the Power of Three. That will mean that she will be free to appear to you here in this manor whenever she wants or you want. If she wishes to live here, she may, but she is confined to the house. Since you own this home, Piper, that is up to you. If you wish to have her as a permanent house guest until when she herself decides to move on to the other side...”

“Are you kidding?” cried Piper. “That’s not even a question that needs asking!”

The three young women ran into Prue’s arms, all of them crying and laughing as the Book of Shadows magically closed. Smiling beatifically, the Angel of Destiny vanished even as the men started moving again. They were shocked to see Prue and even more shocked to find out about the sisters’ new destiny, but no one complained, as Leo took Piper into his arms, Henry hugged Paige, and Coop took Phoebe into his own arms.

Prue just smiled at all three couples and somewhere, even Cole Turner had to smile.

[Esmeralda]

Epilogue

Six months later…

“Okay, boys; have a great day.”

“Bye, Mommy!” Both boys ran to give their mother a kiss and then waved as their father orbed them out.

Then, yawning, Piper headed downstairs for that first bracing cup of coffee. She smiled as she neared the kitchen, the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee drawing her in as it did every morning. Also like just about every morning, Prue sat at the dining-room table, sipping coffee, catching up on the latest news.

She didn’t even look up, so engrossed was she on the words on the screen of her laptop. "Coffee’s brewed in the kitchen if you want some. Waffles in the oven.”

Piper smiled. “Ever since Phoebe got you that laptop you've had your nose stuck in that thing.”

“Mhmmm.” She looked up. “Oh, Piper! What did you say?”

Piper snickered. “Exactly.”

She laughed as she walked into the kitchen, filled her mug and grabbed some of the waffles and bacon that Prue had warming in the oven, then returned to the dining room to sit next to her sister.

She was just so happy to have Prue around the house. Paige and Phoebe weren’t around that much and just as the Angel predicted, the only demons they had encountered were the ones Paige encountered through her charges but she and her charges were always able to handle them.

Once in a while, Piper could hear her pop into the attic in order to check the Book and each time she did, Prue would hurry upstairs to see if she needed help, but up to this point, she hadn’t.

But Prue didn’t just sit around waiting for Paige to show up. Piper was so very proud of her big sister. Even though her physical corporeal body was confined to the manor, Prue’s astral self was still able to go wherever she wanted. She had also mastered the art of staying conscious while astral projecting.

Thanks to this, she had taken up photography again and set herself up as an anonymous photographer online working for the newspapers and TV stations around San Francisco, providing hard-to-get pictures of current events that normal reporters couldn’t get. No one could figure out who was this photographer who always got the best pictures, since she’d send the photos by email to the offices, with them paying her via an anonymous account that she had set up.

Piper shook her head in admiration. Only Prue Halliwell could make what others would view as a disability into a lucrative endeavor.

Oh, there had been a few close calls where someone she knew in the past would see her and swear to everyone what they had seen, but Prue was always been able to get out of those types of situations.

Piper glanced up at the clock and smiled. Phoebe and Paige should be showing up shortly. Shortly after Prue became her permanent houseguest, the four sisters started the tradition of having breakfast together in the manor dining room every weekday morning, just so they could catch up on things for the day.

Sure enough, Paige orbed in, saying her good mornings to her sisters before heading to the kitchen. Since the Ultimate Battle, Paige spent most of her time with Henry, living at his place which was now their place. When he was helping his charges as parole officer, she was busy protecting and guiding her charges, usually having between four and five to keep track of. There was usually the occasional demon who came after her charges, but nothing too big for her and her charges to handle, giving her charges a chance to learn how to properly use their powers.

Two months earlier, the Elders came to her and took her for a visit to Elderland and ever since then Paige could go there on her own and frequent their place whenever she wanted – she was now fully plugged into the whitelighter club. To her surprise, she found this very satisfying in spite of her reluctance in the past to embrace her whitelighter side

Paige sat down, sipping her tea and nibbling on dry toast. Her sisters grinned. They knew the reason for Paige’s choice of food and were hoping that this time they’d finally get a little girl in the family to spoil, even if Phoebe was still certain that her Ladybug would be the first girl. Prue grinned, now knowing why Phoebe’s daughter in the future was called Prudence and not Prue – after all, once she showed up, Prue planned on using her astral self to spoil her namesake as often as possible. Grams always warned Phoebe that someday she would have a daughter just like her and Prue was going to make sure of it!

Paige had already made it clear that if the baby was a girl, she’d name her after the woman she still counted as her mother – her adopted mother – just like if it was a boy they were going to name him after Henry, and that made Phoebe happy, since it left Prudence for Ladybug.

Piper was still determined that if or when she ever had a little girl, her name would be Melinda, just like that one she saw in the alternate future, even if thanks to that Power That Be and his prophecy, she knew this Melinda wouldn’t be the same girl.

As Paige sat down, Coop heart-orbed Phoebe into the manor, kissed her goodbye and then heart-orbed back out. Phoebe was already holding her own cup of coffee, but hurried into the kitchen to get some waffles and bacon, then sat at the table, curious to hear what her sisters had to tell, eager to share her own news, especially about her wedding, still six months away – plenty of time for Paige to be able to fit into her bridesmaid dress. . As always, Phoebe had to glance down to admire the sparkle of the huge diamond on her finger.

But planning her wedding as the biggest society affair in San Francisco in years came second to Phoebe going strong as Ask Phoebe, especially because thanks to her fiancé’s coaching, she was able to control her empathy and premonitions and was now an even better columnist. She was even considering writing a book once all of the wedding stuff settled down. Although maybe she’d wait until after Ladybug showed up…

As for Piper, with the help of Paige’s pleading, the Elders agreed to reopen Magic School and after giving him back his wings, made Leo the principal. As he had since his own wedding, he planned on continuing to glamour so he’d always look the same age as Piper. In the meantime, he spent his days at Magic School with Wyatt and Chris, who were now in daycare and would later actually attend school there, giving Piper much-needed time for herself.

A few months earlier, Prue talked her into finding a great manager for P3, a man who everyone knew and everyone trusted, and this gave Piper even more time to do other things.

Just a month after that hire, Quake became available for sale, so she and her sisters pitched in to buy the restaurant which they appropriately renamed “P4”. That was where Piper now spent most of her time during the day, enjoying cooking things besides potions.

Everyone was now at the table eating and sharing various news (well, everyone except Prue, whose nose was still stuck in her laptop), when Piper asked for everyone’s attention – Prue’s included.

Once she made sure that everyone was looking at her, especially Prue, Piper told them, “I would like us to start a new tradition.”

“What’s that?” Paige wanted to know.

“Each of us keeps a blog of all the events of the Charmed Ones.”

“But don’t we already do that in the Book of Shadows?” Phoebe asked.

“No, I’d like to keep this separate from those entries – save that for vanquishing demons and warlocks and other such baddies. Each day we enter things special to us that we see necessary to guide our kids in the future. The Good and the Bad and the lessons learned of being Charmed. Whether it happened in the past when we were demon-hunting or it happened now.”

Reaching into the hutch behind her, Piper brought out a very large, very thick, black notebook that she had bought and had specially divided into four sections, one section for each sister. It was almost as big as the current Book of Shadows, but they all knew it wouldn’t be long before it was full. Phoebe was already starting to come up with spells that would make the thing even bigger in the future.

“Oh, Piper!” cried Prue. “What a great idea!”

“And, Prue, as the oldest, each day, you get to go first!”

The other three cheered as Piper handed her the new notebook. Prue opened the new journal to the first section, smiling to see “Prue Halliwell” in a fancy script.

“I know what I’m going to write about,” she told the others. “All about the day Phoebe returned home from New York…”


THE END