A Different Kind Of Evil

[noazmale]

CHARMED
"A Different Kind Of Evil"
by J. B. Tilton
email: [e-mail]
Rating: K+ (for mild language)

Disclaimer: “Charmed” and all related characters and events are the property of the WB television network, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

* * *

(Authors’ note: This story takes place between the episodes “We All Scream For Ice Cream” and “Blinded By The White Lighter”.)

* * *

A young man who needs their help and who knows all about them approaches the Charmed Ones. A young man who is harboring a secret that will impact the girls profoundly.

* * *

ONE

Phoebe was watching the news when Prue came into the living room and sat down. Prue had a bowl of chocolate ice cream with her and was eagerly engulfing the entire bowl.

“Ugh,” said Phoebe. “How can you eat that? After what we just went through? Just two days ago we were trapped in an ice cream truck and nearly devoured by the big Nothing.”

“It wasn’t the ice creams’ fault,” said Prue. “Besides, it’s chocolate. Chocolate couldn’t be responsible for any evil in the world.”

“Still,” said Phoebe, “I think it’s going to be a while before I can look at a bowl of ice cream the same way.”

“What about kids?” asked Prue, between bites. “Those demons were kids, you know?”

“I know,” said Phoebe. “It’s not the same. They weren’t really kids. They were demons. If it wasn’t for us, they might have done a lot more damage.”

“Well,” said Prue, smiling, “it wasn’t really an ice cream truck, either. It was a portal to another dimension where the big Nothing destroyed those demons.”

“Daddy called today,” said Phoebe, changing the subject.

“Oh?” questioned Prue. “What did he want?”

Her question was one of genuine interest. Only a few days before, she couldn’t have cared if he was alive or dead. His help with the demon kids had helped to smooth over the hard feelings she had been harboring against him. Soon, she thought, they might actually be able to have a normal father-daughter relationship.

“Oh, he just wanted to say hi,” said Phoebe. “And to let us know he’s going to be out of town for a day or two. Something about business.”

“I guess we’ll have to get used to it,” said Prue. “Where’s Piper?”

“Where do you think?” asked Phoebe, looking at the ceiling. “She and Leo are upstairs. Again!”

“You can’t really blame them,” said Prue. “They get so little privacy around here, what with both of us and demons popping in at all hours.”

“I know,” said Phoebe. “I was thinking. Maybe you and I should spend the day out together. Give them some real privacy for change.”

“Not a bad idea,” said Prue. “We can give them the whole house to themselves for a change.”

Just then the doorbell rang. Phoebe looked at Prue and Prue looked at Phoebe. Neither moved for a moment. The doorbell rang again. Suddenly Phoebe got up and moved to the door.

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll get it.”

“Well,” said Prue smiling, “it is chocolate.”

Phoebe opened the door and saw a young man standing on the porch. He was about twenty years old and was wearing blue jeans and a windbreaker. His brown hair was tumbled from the breeze that was blowing. He was looking down at a piece of paper he was holding.

“H . . . hi,” he stammered. “Is this 1329 Prescott Street?”

“Yes,” she said. “Can I help you?”

“That depends,” said the young man. “I understand this is the Halliwell Manor.”

“Right again,” said Phoebe. “Looks like you got the right place. What do you need?”

“My name is . . . Vic,” said the young man. “I need to speak to you and your sisters. It’s very important. A matter of life and death. I understand you sometimes help people in need. I’m in need of your help. Desperately in need.”

“Come in,” said Phoebe.

She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t a demon. For one thing, demons didn’t use the doorbell. For another, this young man was nervous, almost timid. She had never heard of a timid demon before.

She escorted Vic into the living room where Prue sat eating her ice cream. When she saw the two, she sat the bowl on the table next to her. She straightened herself on the sofa.

“Who’s this?” she asked.

“He says his name is Vic,” said Phoebe. “He says he needs our help.”

“What kind of help?” asked Prue.

Vic looked around the living room. As if he was studying the entire room. He even looked at the ceiling and floor as if they held his total fascination.

“There’s a third sister, isn’t there?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Prue. “Piper, the middle one. Why?”

“This will probably be easier if you were all present,” said Vic. “So I can tell you every thing once and answer any questions you might have. And I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of questions.”

“Okay,” said Phoebe, “I’ll go get her. Will you be okay, Prue?”

“She’ll be fine,” said the young man, now a bit more relaxed. “I’m not a threat to you. Not like the kind you usually face, anyway.”

Phoebe went upstairs to get Piper and Leo. The mans’ cryptic words rang in her ears and she just knew this was not going to be a normal evening in the Halliwell Manor.

[noazmale]

TWO

“Explain what?” asked Piper when Phoebe had explained about their guest.

“I don’t know,” said Phoebe. “All I know is he said that he needed our help and made some allusions to an explanation.”

“Are you sure he’s not a demon?” asked Leo.

“A demon who uses the doorbell?” asked Phoebe. “You ever hear of a demon who uses the doorbell?”

“No, I guess not,” said Leo.

“Well,” said Phoebe, “besides that, he seems kind of timid. Almost like we overwhelm him. Or like he was intimidated by us.”

“And he said he wasn’t a threat like the kind we normally face?” asked Piper.

“That’s what he said,” said Phoebe. “It almost seems like he knows we fight demons. If he does, he could be a problem if we don’t agree to help him with whatever he needs our help with.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” said Leo. “Let’s go see what he wants.”

The three left the bedroom and descended the stairs to the living room. When they entered the living room, Vic was sitting in one of the chairs. He immediately stood up when Piper and Phoebe came into the room.

“Well,” said Phoebe, “your manners seem impeccable.”

“That comes from my mother,” said Vic. “She said there was always time for good manners.”

“Sounds like a nice woman,” said Piper. “I’m Piper. Phoebe says you wanted to talk to us. About some trouble you’re in.”

“Yes,” said the man. “I’m sorry if I’m staring. I’ve heard a lot about you. You’re Piper, the middle sister. Phoebe is the youngest. And Prue is the oldest. You have no idea what an honor it is to finally meet all of you.”

“This is Leo,” said Piper. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“I see,” said Vic. “I assume he knows . . . about you.”

“What about us?” asked Prue.

“That you’re so . . . charming,” said Vic hesitantly.

The three sisters and Leo immediately took notice. His choice of words had seemed very deliberate. As if he was he was trying to say something without actually saying it.

“Yes,” said Piper slowly, “Leo knows all about us. We’re planning on getting married soon. Why do you ask?”

“It’s because of your, shall we say, special talents,” said Vic.

“Special talents?” asked Phoebe. “Just what type of special talents would those be?”

Vic looked at the sisters then at Leo. He took a deep breath before he spoke again.

“Your Charmed talents,” he said finally.

No one spoke. If this man was a demon, he was the most peculiar demon they had ever faced. Most demons didn’t announce the fact that they knew these were the Charmed Ones. At least not without throwing energy balls or some other form of attack.

“I’m sorry to just blurt it out like that,” said Vic. “I couldn’t think of any graceful way to say it. I know you’re witches and that you are what they call the Charmed Ones. Very powerful witches with extraordinary powers. It’s why I’ve come to you. I can’t go to anyone else. I need help and you’re the only ones I can turn to.”

“Okay,” said Piper, looking at her sisters, “assuming you’re right, what kind of help do you need?”

“A couple of months ago,” said Vic, “my mother became seriously ill. We didn’t have any insurance and she desperately needed medical treatment. I couldn’t get a loan from any bank for the amount of money I needed for her. So I did a stupid thing.”

“You went to a loan shark,” finished Prue.

“Yeah,” said Vic. “I didn’t have any other option. Without the medical treatments, my mother was going to die. I couldn’t let that happen. So I borrowed some money from this loan shark.”

“How much?” asked Phoebe.

“Two hundred fifty thousand dollars,” said Vic. “I needed that much for the treatment and the medication she would need afterward.”

“That’s a lot of money,” said Leo. “How did you plan to pay the money back?”

“I don’t know,” said Vic. “I wasn’t thinking about that at the time. All I was thinking about was saving my mothers’ life. The money got her the treatment she needed and she’s doing fine.”

“Now this loan shark wants his money,” said Piper.

“Yes,” said Vic. “I don’t have that kind of money. I’m a carpenters’ apprentice. There’s no way I can repay that money. I’ve tried to explain that to Mr. Jackson. He’s the loan shark. I tried to make arrangements to pay him back a little each week.”

“But he wouldn’t agree with that,” said Prue. “He wants all of his money back right now.”

“Yes,” said Vic. “I don’t know what to do. I’m not afraid he’ll kill me, because then he won’t get his money.”

“I don’t understand,” said Piper. “How do you think we can help you?”

“This Jackson has taken my mother,” said Vic. “He’s holding her prisoner. He says if I don’t pay him everything I owe him within,” he looked at his watch, “forty three hours, he’s going to send her back to me. A piece at a time.”

The sisters looked at each other. Their mission, as it were, was to protect the innocent. But that had always meant protection against demons, warlocks, and the like. This was a much more mundane evil that society had ways of dealing with.

“I’m not sure they can do that,” said Leo. “If you know who they are, you also know they’re supposed to use their powers only against evil.”

“This man is evil,” said Vic. “He preys on innocent people who have nowhere else to turn. People who are only trying to do the best they can but who get jammed up for one reason or another. Isn’t that evil?”

“Yes,” said Piper, “but the law has recourse for that. Our powers are only for those situations where nothing else will help. Perhaps if you went to the police . . ..”

“I’ve tried,” said Vic. “They said without proof, there’s nothing they can do. And my word alone isn’t proof enough. They say they know he’s a loan shark, but they need some hard evidence to do anything.”

“I still don’t see what we can do,” said Phoebe.

“Don’t you help each other?” asked Vic. “Even if the problems aren’t demonic in nature?”

“That’s different,” said Leo. “In helping each other, they help protect the Charmed Ones.”

“Because they’re family,” said Vic.

“Well, sort of, I guess,” said Prue. “Besides, our . . . bosses sort of look the other way when we help each other. We’re expected to help family.”

“I see,” said Vic. “Then you won’t help me?”

“I don’t see how we can,” said Piper. “I’m sorry, Vic. I wish we could help. I really do. I just don’t see how this falls under our purview.”

“There is something I haven’t told you,” said Vic. “Vic is actually sort of a nickname. Well, really, it’s short for my first name, Victor. My full name is Victor Bennett, Jr. Your father and my father were the same man. I’m your half-brother.”

No one spoke. No one even breathed. They all just stared at Vic in total amazement.

[noazmale]

THREE

“You’re joking?” said Phoebe finally.

Vic removed his wallet and opened it. He removed a small photograph and looked at it for several long seconds. Then he handed it to Phoebe. All three sisters crowded together to look at the picture. It showed a man, a woman, and a baby in the woman’s’ arms. Although somewhat younger, each of the sisters recognized the man. It was Victor Halliwell, their father.

“No, I’m not,” said Vic. “It’s how I learned about you. He told me everything. About how your mother was a witch. How each of you were witches. And not just witches, but the Charmed Ones. He told me of your fight with demons and of something called a White Lighter.”

The sisters just looked up at Leo for a second. The look didn’t go unnoticed by Vic.

“What?” he asked. “Are you one of these White Lighters? My father said it was a White Lighter that broke up his marriage to their mother.”

“I am a White Lighter,” said Leo. “I’m not that White Lighter, though.”

“In all fairness to daddy,” said Prue, “her White Lighter didn’t break up their marriage. He didn’t come into the picture until after they broke up.”

“I always figured there was another side to the story,” said Vic.

“Let’s stay on the subject, here,” said Phoebe. “All you’ve shown us is a photograph which could or could not be of you as a baby. It doesn’t prove you’re our brother.”

“Then how do I know so much about you?” asked Vic. “I knew your names, that you’re witches, even the Charmed Ones. I knew where you lived. How do you explain all that?”

“You could have learned all that from almost anywhere,” said Piper. “It doesn’t prove a thing.”

Vic reached into his pocket once more and removed an item. He held up a small pendant. The pendant was the same symbol that was on the cover of the Book of Shadows.

“My father had this,” he said. “He gave it to me. He said it was the symbol that represented the three of you. And that it was on a book called the Book of Shadows. Which you keep in the attic upstairs.”

No one spoke. He knew an awful lot about them. But as Piper had said, he could have learned that anywhere.

“Look, Vic,” said Phoebe, leaning over and placing her hand on his shoulder, “it’s not that we don’t want to believe you. It’s just that . . ..”

She was stopped in mid sentence as a vision suddenly flashed in her mind. It was the vision of her father pushing a small child in a stroller. Next to him walked a woman. The same woman in the photograph they had just looked at.

“Conference,” she said suddenly, jumping up and heading for the kitchen.

“Uh, wait here for a moment,” said Piper. “Phoebe seems to be having one of her episodes again.”

Once in the kitchen, Phoebe told them of the vision. Her visions were usually premonitions of the future. Occasionally, she would have flashes of the past.

“Well,” said Leo, “it happened when you touched him. Which means that the vision was about him. Since your father was in the vision, I think we have to assume he’s telling the truth. He’s your half-brother.”

“Whew,” said Prue. “All these years and we never knew about him. What do you suppose happened?”

“I think it’s pretty clear,” said Piper. “After daddy and mom broke up, daddy apparently found someone else. Bingo, bango, bongo, instant little brother.”

“So, what do we do about it?” asked Phoebe.

“You aren’t seriously suggesting we help him?” asked Prue. “Remember about our powers? Only for fighting demons and warlocks and such?”

“He needs our help,” Phoebe shot back. “And he’s family. If one of us was in this situation, we wouldn’t hesitate to help.”

“We wouldn’t be in this situation,” responded Prue. “We wouldn’t go to a loan shark for money.”

“If a loved ones’ life was at stake,” said Phoebe, “we might. It was his mothers’ life at stake. None of us can say how we’d react in a situation like that.”

“This isn’t helping anything,” said Piper, the voice of reason between here sisters’ arguments. “Okay. For the moment, let’s assume that he is our brother. Do we help him or not?”

“Yes,” said Phoebe.

“No,” said Prue, almost at the same instance.

“Leo,” said Piper, “weren’t we told that our job is to protect the innocent? That we were given our powers to fight evil?”

“Well, yes, but,” began Leo.

“But nothing,” said Piper. “Whatever Vic has done, his mother is an innocent in all this. And I don’t think anyone will dispute that a loan shark is basically evil. I don’t see the problem. We have to help him. Especially since he’s family.”

“I’m not sure what the Elders will think about this,” said Leo.

“I don’t give a damn what the Elders think about it,” said Phoebe. “They can’t tell us to help and protect the innocent, then tie our hands simply because the evil is mortal. I’m not saying we make this a habit. But he does have a point. We would help each other in a situation like this simply because we are sisters.”

“Okay,” said Prue. “Let’s help him. Only this isn’t a demon we’re going after. We can’t just bust in and start killing. While they may not be innocents, they are mortal. We’ll have to be very careful that no one gets hurt unintentionally. Any ideas?”

“Well,” said Phoebe, “I think I might have one. But we’ll need Darryl’s’ help. With any luck, we can put this Jackson away for a long time.”

“What do you have in mind?” asked Leo.

Patiently, Phoebe explained to them what she had in mind. They all listened intently to her plan. From the look on their faces she could tell they were impressed with it.

“Okay,” said Leo when Phoebe had finished. “I’ll orb out and get Darryl. I suggest the rest of you go back into the living room and explain all this to Vic. We don’t have much time and I have no doubt that a loan shark will keep his promise to kill Vic’s’ mother if we don’t do something.”

Leo orbed out and the sisters went to the living room to explain what they were going to do.

[noazmale]

FOUR

“I hope this works,” said Vic, sitting in the car outside of a small restaurant. “If it doesn’t, my mother is dead.”

“Don’t worry,” said Piper. “Just play your part and everything will be fine. All we have to do is wait for Leo and Darryl to get into place”

As if on cue, a hand radio sitting on the dash of the car keyed.

“We’re in place,” came Darryl’s’ voice over the radio. “Whenever you guys are ready. Remember, we have to have a full confession if we’re going to do anything about him.”

“Don’t worry, Darryl,” said Piper over the radio, “we’ll get you everything you need.” She put the radio in the seat next to her. “Everyone ready?”

“About as ready as we’ll ever be, I guess,” said Prue. “Let’s get this over with.”

The four of them got out of the car and walked to the restaurant. Even before they reached the building, they could see two men standing just inside the front doors. They were large men; the type that someone might hire as bodyguards.

Vic was the first one to enter the restaurant. As he did, one of the men stepped forward directly in front of him. Vic didn’t say anything. He simply raised his arms and let the man pat him down. He had told the sisters that would happen. Jackson was a very cautious man. As he finished patting Vic down, he motioned for Vic to enter the restaurant.

“Who are they?” demanded the other man.

“Friends,” said Vic. “We have business with Jackson.”

“Mr. Jackson,” corrected the man. He turned to the sisters. “You’ll have to be frisked. Gotta make sure you ain’t armed.”

“Go ahead,” said Piper, raising her arms. “Just be careful where you put your hands.”

The first man patted her down and was apparently satisfied Piper had no weapons on her. He motioned her into the restaurant and Phoebe stepped up. Just as the man was beginning to pat Phoebe down, Piper used her powers to freeze the entire restaurant.

Phoebe reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a small micro-cassette recorder. She handed the recorder to Piper, who pressed the record button, then placed it in her shirt pocket. The vest she was wearing covered the slight bulge of the recorder perfectly. Then Piper unfroze the restaurant.

The man patted down first Phoebe, then Prue. He seemed satisfied that neither the sisters nor Vic was carrying anything they weren’t supposed to. He motioned them into the restaurant. In the back of the restaurant sat a large, balding man about fifty years old who was thoroughly enjoying a very large plate of spaghetti.

“Vic,” said the man with a mouthful of the pasta, “it’s good to see you. You’re early. Usually I have to go looking for my clients. And just who might these lovely ladies be?”

“Friends,” said Vic. “Mr. Jackson, I don’t have the money. I told you I couldn’t get that kind of money in such a short amount of time. I need more time.”

“Vic, Vic, Vic,” said the man, wiping his mouth, “we’ve had this discussion before. I loaned you the money in good faith. You agreed to my terms. Now, it’s time to repay that loan. It’s simply business.”

“My mother doesn’t have anything to do with this,” said Vic.

“My dear boy,” said Jackson, “she has everything to do with this. She’s the reason you borrowed the money. So what are these young ladies here for? Moral support?”

“No,” said Prue arrogantly. “We’re here to tell you to lay off Vic. And to let his mother go.”

“Or what?” asked Jackson. “Just what do you think you little girls can do about it?”

“We know your kind,” said Piper. “You’re a loan shark that preys on innocent people.”

“First of all,” said Jackson, “loan shark is such an ugly term. Secondly, there is no such thing as an innocent person. I’m a businessman. I provide a service for a fee. Nothing wrong with that.”

“We expect you to charge a reasonable rate,” said Prue. “And have a reasonable repayment plan. Not what you’re doing. Maybe the police would like to know what you’re doing.”

“Is that a threat?” asked Jackson. Prue felt rather than heard one of the men from the front of the restaurant step up behind her. “I can assure you, my dear young lady, I know quite well how to deal with threats.”

“So do we,” said Prue. “Okay, let’s get this over with. How much does Vic owe you?”

“Five hundred grand,” said Jackson.

“That’s outrageous,” said Phoebe. “He only borrowed two hundred fifty thousand.”

“Interest,” said Jackson. “You can’t expect me to loan money for nothing.”

“One hundred percent for three months?” asked Vic. “The law calls that usury. It’s illegal.”

“So what?” said Jackson. “It’s your word against mine. The law can’t touch me. I’m much too careful. And it will take more than the word of the four of you to pin anything on me.”

“Maybe they’ll believe your own words,” said Piper, pulling the recorder out of her pocket.

“Well,” said Jackson, “I don’t know how you managed to sneak that in here. But I can assure you it will never leave this building. Mike, Craig, take care of this riff raff. And when you’re done, get rid of the bitch. She’s no use to us any longer. Pity, Vic. You should have paid up. I might have let you live a little longer if you had paid something. Now, I’m afraid, it’s too late.”

Suddenly, Prue dropped to the ground and spun. Phoebe reacted almost as fast, striking out with her foot, catching the man standing behind Prue along the side of the head. The man went flying against the wall and clamored to the floor.

The man still standing by the door turned and reached into his jacket. As he pulled a pistol out of his jacket and aimed it at the sisters, Prue stretched out her hand, sending the man flying through the front window. The window shattered under his weight sending him flying onto the sidewalk beyond. His pistol fell at his feet.

The man quickly recovered his feet and reached down for the gun. As he came up he began to raise the pistol at the sisters once more. Just as the pistol was level with the window, the man froze. The muzzle of another pistol rested squarely against his left temple.

“I’d think long and hard about your next move,” said Darryl as he cocked his service pistol.

The man looked around and saw half a dozen policemen standing around with shotguns pointed directly at him. He froze in place, letting the pistol swing around his trigger finger to come to rest hanging upside down from that finger. Darryl reached down and took the pistol, tucking it into his waist as two more policemen took the man into custody.

Inside the restaurant, Jackson just sat in stunned amazement. Everything had happened within seconds. He didn’t even have time to put down the napkin he had just wiped his mouth with.

“You’re going down, Jackson” said Piper. “This time, you screwed with the wrong guy.”

“I don’t think so,” said Jackson, smiling. “That tape will never stand up in court. I’ll be out of jail an hour after they book me. And I can assure you, no one will ever testify against me.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, Jackson,” said Darryl, coming into the restaurant.

Behind him walked two police officers. And Leo.

“It seems this young man heard a woman scream a bit ago,” he said, indicating Leo. “When he went to see what was going on, he found a woman being held prisoner. With his help, we were able to get her out unharmed.

“The men holding her seem very eager to talk. It seems they say you paid them to kidnap the woman and hold her. We’ve go you on kidnapping, racketeering, attempted murder, and anything else I can make stick. You’re not walking on this one. I’ll make sure of that.”

The two officers took custody of Jackson as Leo moved over to Piper.

“She was right where we thought she would be,” said Darryl. “Once Leo told me about him holding that woman prisoner, I remembered that warehouse Jackson owns. Seemed like the perfect place to hold someone hostage.”

“I was able to orb in and get Vic’s’ mother and orb out before they knew I was there,” said Leo.

“So,” said Piper, turning to Vic, “it seems everything turned out okay. What say we all go home and take it easy for the rest of the day?”

“I can’t,” said Darryl. “I have to go book that scum. Something I’ve been wanting to do for ten years.”

Piper handed Darryl the tape recorder, then the rest of them piled into the car and returned to the manor.

[noazmale]

FIVE

“He’s already talking deal,” said Darryl that evening at the manor. “The district attorney says we have enough on him to put him away for the rest of his natural life.”

Vic and his mother sat on the sofa while Darryl explained what had happened to Jackson.

“Good,” said Phoebe. “Guys like that get my goat. It’s bad enough having to deal with demons and warlocks. Dealing with scum like that is even worse.”

“Will you need me to testify?” asked Vic.

“No, I don’t think so,” said Darryl. “The racketeering charges are the least of Jackson’s’ problems. I think the DA is going to use them as a bargaining chip. He drops the racketeering charges and Jackson gives us information.

“But it would probably be a good idea if you got out of town for a while. Men like Jackson usually work for someone else. That person may still be after his money. Is there anywhere you can go?”

“Yes,” said Margaret, Vic’s’ mother. “I have a sister in Connecticut we can go visit. We should be safe there.”

“Good,” said Darryl. “I’ll make sure you get out of town with a low profile.”

“Thanks,” said Vic.

“So,” said Piper, “what’s the story between your mother and our father?”

“Well,” said Vic, “after him and your mother split up, he met my mother. They fell in love and I was born a couple of years later. He always said one of the reasons he and you mom split up was because he couldn’t deal with the fact that she was a witch. And he blamed the White Lighter for breaking them up.”

“Which, as we told you,” said Piper, “isn’t exactly true.”

“No, I suppose not,” said Vic. “Anyway, he’s the one who told me about you. He didn’t want you to know about me because he was afraid you might influence me somehow. But he thought I had a right to know I had three sisters out there somewhere.”

“So when you got into trouble with Jackson,” said Phoebe, “naturally, you thought of us.”

“Sort of,” said Vic. “I realized I needed some real help. You were the only option I could think of. If what dad had told me about you was true, I figured you could help.”

“I told him not to bother you,” said Margaret. “Victor didn’t want you to know Vic existed. I was afraid if you found out, you’d turn him down. I didn’t know what kind of terms you were on with Victor.”

“What happened between the two of you?” asked Prue. “He’s never mentioned you.”

“We split up about ten years ago,” said Margaret. “He couldn’t get over your mother and I couldn’t live with the memory of her coming between us. We did part on good terms, though. I wish him the best.”

“Well,” said Phoebe, “you may not be our mother, but you’re welcome here any time. You just have to be prepared for demons and warlocks and God knows what else that might pop in at any moment.”

“You make it seem so inviting,” said Margaret, smiling. “Actually, we don’t want to be a burden. I do appreciate everything you’ve done for Vic and me. Maybe we can find a way to repay you sometime.”

“Aw, it was nothing,” said Piper. “Actually, it was kind of nice being the superior forces for a change. It was almost too easy.”

“We’re not making a habit of it, remember?” asked Leo, smiling.

“I remember,” said Piper.

“Well,” said Darryl, “I’d better get back to the station. Vic, call me in the morning. I’ll give you the details on getting you out of town.”

“Sure, Inspector,” said Vic. “Mom and I should get going, too. She’s pretty worn out from all this.”

“Just stay away from loan sharks from now on,” said Prue. “If you need help again, call us first. There might be something we can do to help and keep you out of trouble.”

“I will, I promise,” said Vic. “And I’ll make sure you have the address and phone number where we’re staying in Connecticut. Now that we know about each other, I’d like to stay in touch.”

“You’d better,” said Phoebe. “Finally, I’m not the youngest any more.”

“You’re still the youngest sister,” said Prue, a smirk on her face.

Phoebe just stuck her tongue out at Prue and everyone laughed, thankful that the entire ordeal was finally over.

The End

[phoebe11]

loved it