Disclaimer : My name’s not Aaron Spelling, so I don’t own them. But I really, really, really like to write about them.

Don’t Know What You’ve Got
by Freaky Fan

Part 1

The club’s clientele usually consisted of twenty to thirty something workaholics out to unwind after a long day of keeping their nose to the grindstone. A real kids need new shoes, the roof is leaking, the mortgage is coming due kind of crowd. But not tonight. No, tonight, thanks to a power outage closing a bunch of clubs a couple of blocks away, they were catering to a younger crowd. A younger, much rowdier crowd. Midterms were over and students needed somewhere to go to party.

Piper couldn’t help but smile as the entire crowd in front of the stage started jumping at the same time. It was odd, seeing so many people moving in the same direction at the same time. But at least they were having a good time thanks to the guy Phoebe had conned into being their DJ for the night. Maybe conned wasn’t the right word considering they were paying him a small fortune to keep the natives from getting too restless.

A loud whoop drew her attention to the cluster of tables that had been shoved together against the far wall to make more of a dance floor. It didn’t take her long to figure out the cause of the disturbance. Especially when she saw the look on Phoebe’s face and the way all but one of the guys at the table she was by were cracking up. Apparently someone had gotten a little out of hand.

That’s when she noticed Prue making a beeline for the table. Phoebe tried to say something to her but Prue breezed right by her, more interested in the offender than her sister. The guy’s face turned fifty shades of red as Prue chewed him out, his buddies egging her on the whole time. And all Phoebe could do was stand there, looking mortified.

It didn’t take Prue long to finish. She gave the guy her best ’mess with my little sister again and I’ll kick you ass’ look before turning away from the table and starting back toward the bar.

Piper frowned as a young man broke away from the crowd that had gathered to watch the festivities and fell into step next to Prue. Other than an eye roll, Prue didn’t pay much attention to him.

“No.”

Piper’s ears perked up when her big sister got close enough for her to hear.

“All I want is a drink.”
“And I said no.” Prue’s answer was curt as she went around the bar.
“But….”
“What part of no don’t you understand?”
“The part where you won’t give me a drink.”
“Sorry, kiddo.”
“Kiddo? Kiddo?!” The boy looked at Prue indignantly. “I’m twenty-five years old!”
“Riiiight.” Prue nodded. “And I’m a Playboy bunny. Come back when you’ve grown some facial hair.”

Piper couldn’t help but laugh as the kid threw his hands in the air and stormed away. “Nice job.”
“Yeah, well I couldn’t have you getting busted for selling to an underage drinker.” Prue grinned. “You wouldn’t last an hour in jail.”

“Jail?” Phoebe echoed her sister’s word as she came to a stop next to Piper. “Who’s going to jail?”
“No one thanks to our big sister.” Piper nodded toward Prue.
“Yep, that’s our Prue.” Phoebe raised one eyebrow. “Always watching out for her sisters.” She mumbled, “Whether we want her to or not,” under her breath.

“Excuse me?” Prue narrowed her eyes.
“Nothing.” Phoebe looked at her innocently.
Prue frowned. “You mumbled something.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Yes you did.”
“NO, I didn’t.”
“Like hell you didn’t!”
“Would you two knock it off?!”

Phoebe and Prue both looked at Piper for about half a second before they started bickering again. Piper closed her eyes, knowing the night had just gotten a LOT longer. She never should have let both of her sisters volunteer to help out. Especially when she knew how pissy they had been with one another all week. But one look at all those kids flooding through the door and she was grateful to have them around. She was quickly rethinking that decision.

“Why do you always have to be such a bitch?”

Phoebe’s question caught Piper off guard. And from the shocked gasp that came from Prue’s direction, Piper was betting it did the same to her.

“I mean, lighten up, will you?” Phoebe slammed the tray she had been using to deliver drinks down on the bar.

“I’ll lighten up when you grow up.” Prue snatched the piece of paper her sister had used to scribbled down a new order off the tray.

“Could you guys please not do this?” Piper pleaded with them.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Piper.” Phoebe leaned nonchalantly against the bar. “I’ll be the mature one here and drop it.”
“Mature?” Prue looked at her, dumbfounded. “Since when is name calling mature?”
“Like you have any room to talk.” Phoebe shot back at her. “You chewed that guy a new one for looking at me.”
“Pinching your ass is not looking.”
“Well it’s my ass. If I wanted him yelled at for touching it, I would have done it!”

“All right, that’s it.” Piper looked at the slowly growing crowd around them. There was nothing quite like a good cat fight to attract the male customers. “To my office.” She spoke through clenched teeth when neither one of her sisters moved right away. “NOW!”

Prue growled as she came back around the bar. Phoebe stayed where she was for a moment, trying to win a stare down with Piper. She finally realized it was a losing cause and followed in the wake of her oldest sister.

“Excuse me, you’re Piper Halliwell, right?”

Piper barely gave the woman who had spoken a glance as she started after her sisters. “Yes, but I’m a little busy right now.”
“I can see that.” The woman kept pace with her. “But I really need to talk to you.” She flinched as an extremely loud intro to a song started playing. “All three of you if that’s possible.” She raised her voice to be heard over the music.

Piper could see her sisters standing nose to nose just outside her office door. “Can it wait a few minutes?”
“Actually no.” The woman shook her head. “I don’t think it can.”

“If you weren’t my sister I’d bounce your head off that wall!”
Phoebe laughed. “I’d like to see you try!”

Piper rolled her eyes as she reached her sisters. “Get in there!” She threw open her office door and motioned for her sisters to go inside.

“I’m sorry….” The woman grabbed Piper’s arm. “But I meant it when I said this can’t wait.”

Prue was instantly back at Piper’s side. “Excuse me, but who the hell do you think you are?”
Phoebe was right behind her. “And why are you touching our sister?”

“That’s just it.” The woman let go of Piper. “I think….”

She was drowned out by a loud cheer from the crowd in front of the bar. She tried to make herself heard, but they continued to clap and catcall.

“I think I’m you’re sister!!”

She finally managed to get the words out just as the noise level went back to normal in the club. Her face turned a million shades of red when she saw the shocked expressions on the Halliwells faces.

“I’m Paige Matthews.” She swallowed hard. “And I think I’m your sister.”



The harsh bass beat of the song playing in the club was an oddly fitting background to the silence that had enveloped them. Everyone was staring at everyone else, too stunned to do much of anything else but breathe. It was the sensation of Piper slipping her hand into Prue’s that brought the eldest Halliwell out of her trance like state. She was just as shocked as her sisters, but she was the oldest. It was her responsibility to get a handle on the situation.

“Why don’t we go inside.”

Everyone seemed to think that was a great idea. They all moved toward the open door at the same time. Paige somehow managed to get there first, stopping just short of stepping over the threshold. She swallowed hard as she looked at them over her shoulder.

“Um…. Maybe one of you should….” Paige nodded toward the door.
“No, it’s OK.” Piper answered her. “Go ahead.”

Prue nodded her agreement. If there was one thing they had learned since becoming witches, it was to watch each others back in the face of a potential threat. No better way to do that then to keep Paige where they could see her.

Her thought process was interrupted when Phoebe shoved past her, barely waiting for Paige to go into the room before skirting around the newcomer and heading for the couch. Prue shot her a look as Piper kept a grip on her hand, dragging her toward the desk with her. So much for her developing safety in numbers theory. Now she was going to have to keep an even closer eye on Paige. If the woman tried to do anything to her sisters she would mop the floor with her.

“So….” Phoebe furrowed her brow. “What was your name again?”
“Paige.”
“Paige.” Phoebe said it as if she were testing it out. “What makes you think you’re our sister?”

Prue wanted to chastise her sister for being so blunt but couldn’t bring herself to do it. She was too interested in the answer Paige would hopefully provide. She saw Piper lean forward in her chair behind the desk, obviously as intrigued as her sisters.

“I….” Paige fidgeted with her hands. “Sorry, I’m just so nervous. I can’t believe I’m in the same room with all three of you.” Paige tucked her hair behind her ear. “Do you mind?” She gestured toward the empty chair in front of the desk. She caught the barely perceptible nod from Piper and sat down. “I guess I should start at the beginning.” She looked down at her hands. “I was brought up in foster homes. Well, mainly one foster home. Good people who took me in when I was little and raised me as their own. But they never kept it a secret that I wasn’t their daughter. They even helped me start a search for my real parents. Then….” She paused. “Then they died in a car accident and all that got put on hold. For years knowing where I came from didn’t seem as important as finding out who I really was. What I was meant to be. Does that make any sense?”

Prue saw Phoebe nodding in response, enthralled by what the woman was saying. She was trying not to get too caught up in the story herself. After all, one of them had to keep a level head.

“But then, a few years ago, I realized I was ready to start the search again. To find my birth parents. I went back to the church where I was abandoned as a baby and spoke to the Mother Superior there. She gave me the baby blanket I was wrapped in, and this.” Paige pulled a warn envelope from her purse. “It’s a little worse for wear. I’ve read it a million times.” She held it out in the general direction of the desk. “But you can still make out what it says.”

Piper reached for the envelope, opening it carefully.

“As you can see, there’s no real signature. But the nun also had some newspaper clippings she had saved.” Paige produced some badly yellowed paper. “Said she couldn’t help but keep them when she saw the articles.” She held the clippings out to Prue. “She wanted me to have at least one picture of the woman who claimed to be my mother.”

Prue knew what she would see before she even unfolded the newspaper in her hand. That didn’t stop her from swallowing hard when she saw her mother’s picture staring back at her. It was one of the many articles her grandmother had caught her reading just after their mother’s death. A picture of a smiling Patty against the backdrop of two young men carrying the gurney holding her body bag.

“Oh, God.” Piper’s voice was little more than a whisper as she held the letter out to her big sister, her hand shaking. “It’s mom’s handwriting, Prue.” She looked into her sister’s blue eyes, hoping they would hold some kind of explanation. “It’s mom’s handwriting.”

Phoebe appeared next to Prue as she started to read the letter.

My darling baby girl,

I have no idea what your name may be by the time you read this. I called you Paige from the day I found out I was pregnant. A beautiful name for what was bound to be a beautiful child.
I wrote this letter because I wanted you to know you are one of the most wonderful things that has ever happened to me. But your father and I weren’t ready to raise a child. And rather than make you suffer for the mistakes we made, we gave you away in the hopes that you would find a better life. Maybe someday you’ll forgive us. Maybe not. Whatever the case may be, we know we did the right thing.
I hope life has treated you kind and that you have always had more than enough love to fill your heart. You deserve only the best. I regret that I won’t get the chance to watch you grow, but I know you will make the world a more beautiful place merely by being part of it.
I love you will all my heart and soul.

Your Mother

“She’s right.” Phoebe looked at Paige. “That’s our mother’s handwriting.”

Paige pushed ahead. “I managed to track you three down about a year ago. I couldn’t believe it.” She shook her head. “I went from being an only child to having three little sisters in the matter of a Yahoo search.”

“Why didn’t you come to us then?” Prue eyed her suspiciously.
“I wanted to.” Paige looked at her. “I really did. But I was afraid. I mean, walking up to someone and saying, ‘Hey, I’m the big sister you never knew you had’ isn’t exactly the best of ice breakers. You have no idea how many times I was parked in front of your house and couldn’t find the nerve to get out of my car.”

“What made you decide now was the right time?” Piper supplied the next question.
Paige frowned. “I guess you could say I got a shove in the right direction.”
“A shove?” Prue looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“I….” Paige bit her lip as she stood and paced away from the desk.. “How should I put this?” She stopped not far from the door, turning to look at all three of them. “I know about you. About how ‘special’ you are.”

Prue tensed, halfway expecting Paige to morph into some hideous monster out to steal their powers. But she didn’t. She stayed a pale, nervous looking woman.

“About a year ago I sat straight up in bed one night with the weirdest feeling I’d ever felt. Not really queasy or nauseous, more like I knew a big change had taken place in my life. It wasn’t until a few days later that I learned I could do this….”

Prue’s hands doubled into fists when Paige suddenly disappeared, only to reappear in the same spot a few seconds later. It wasn’t exactly like the disappearing act they had seen more than their fair share of demons pull, but it was close enough to make her even more leery then she had been before.

“I’m not sure what we are.” Paige raised her eyebrows. “I mean, I know we’re not normal. At least not in the politically correct sense of the word. But even that discovery wasn’t enough to give me the courage to face you three. That all changed when the guy showed up.”

Phoebe frowned. “Guy?”
“Yeah, the one who appeared out of nowhere in my apartment tonight. He started throwing around some kind of glowing orbs and yelling about how he was going to take great pleasure in delivering me to his master.” Paige shuddered. “Luckily for me I was chopping vegetables for dinner at the time. I threw the knife at him. I don’t know if I hit him or not, but he disappeared again. That’s when I knew I needed to come see the three of you. I hoped you would be able to explain what’s going on.”

“We can, and….” Phoebe’s eyes suddenly got big. “Watch out!”

Prue was about to ask her baby sister what her problem was when she saw the distortion of air behind Paige. Without further ado a very angry looking demon made his appearance.
“Oh goodie.” The demon sneered at Paige as she turned to face him. “Four instead of one.” He rubbed his hands together. “I’m starting to like this assignment more and more.”

Paige back peddled toward her newfound family, jumping when Phoebe put a hand on her arm to let her know she was safe. Prue quickly stepped in front of them.

“Piper?”
“I’m on it.” Piper motioned with her hands as she came around from behind the desk.

“Oh, now I’m really….” The demon’s cockiness faltered when he realized he couldn’t move his body. “What have you done?”

“Made you a little more cooperative.” Prue made sure Piper was with Phoebe and Paige before walking toward their immobilized guest. “Who are you and what do you want?”
The demon glared. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”
“All right.” Prue shrugged. “We’ll play it your way.” She decked the demon, making his head snap back violently.
“Ugh.” His breath rushed from a chest he couldn’t even move. He chuckled as he turned his eyes on her again. “Is that the best you can do witch?”
“I don’t know.” Prue rose to his challenge. “Let me see.” She drew her fist back again.

“Prue!” Piper was watching her sister with wide eyes. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw anger and confusion colliding in her sister’s ice blue eyes. She spoke in a quiet tone. “You know this isn’t the way we do things.”
“Well maybe it should be.” Prue clinched her jaw, an internal battle of wills taking place. Pummeling the demon would take her mind off of things for a few minutes. But what kind of example did that set for her sisters? “Fine.” She dropped her fist to her side. “Let’s just use the power of three spell to vanquish him. We can always try to find him in the book.”

“Power of three?” The demon looked at them with newfound respect. “You’re….” He swallowed hard. “You’re the Charmed Ones?”

Phoebe nodded in response to his question. “That would be us.”
“Charmed Ones?” Paige frowned. “What’s a Charmed One?”
“I’ll explain later.” Phoebe was quick to silence her.

“But I thought there were only three of you.” The demon looked at each of them in turn.
“There are.” Prue snapped. “Let’s….”
“Wait!” The demon yelled. “I’ll tell you what you want to know.” He swallowed hard again. “I’m a member of the Drahnel clan. We were contacted by the Source about….”

“The Source?” Phoebe interrupted him.
“Let him finish.” Prue shot her sister a look.

“About finding and capturing her.” The demon nodded toward Paige. “Something about capturing one and the many would foll….” His eyes suddenly went wide as flames engulfed his feet. “No!” He looked at the sisters desperately as the flames spread. “NO!!”

His agonized cry rang around the room as the flames consumed him. They burned bright for a second before exploding with enough force to throw Prue across the room. She landed in a heap behind the desk as the flames disappeared, leaving nothing but a charred place on the floor to mark when the demon had been.

“Prue?!” Piper scrambled around the desk. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I….” Prue winced as she tried to stand. “I think so.”
“Here.” Piper offered her a helping hand.

Prue couldn’t help but notice Phoebe had her arm around Paige. She was whispering something to the woman.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Piper’s eyes settled on a smear of blood on the side of her sister’s head. “What’s this?”
“Ouch!” Prue flinched when her sister touched her temple. “I said I’m fine, Piper.”
“Mr. Nasty Gash says differently.” Piper shook her head. “We need to get you home so we can clean that up.”
“All right.” Prue pushed her sister’s hand away. “We’ll make sure Paige gets home safely and….”

“No.”

Prue frowned at Phoebe. “What?”
“I said no.” Phoebe met her sister’s gaze. “It’s obvious she’s in danger, Prue. She should come home with us.”
“What?!” Prue looked at her in disbelief.

“You heard that demon, Prue. Something called The Source is after her.”
“We don’t….”
“And she’s our sister!” Phoebe was quick to interrupt her. “It’s our responsibility to….”
“We can’t be sure she’s our sister!”

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “I knew you would be like this.”
Prue narrowed her eyes. “Like what Phoebe? Cautious? Excuse me for not wanting to let a letter and some newspaper clippings win me over!”
“Fine!” Phoebe growled. “You and Piper go home, I’m going with Paige.”

“What?” Piper finally stepped in. “Phoebe, you can’t….”
“Even if she’s not our sister, she’s still an innocent, Piper. I’m not going to let her go home by herself so another demon can attack her!”
“I’ll be fine.” Paige tried to help out. “I can take care of myself.”
“I’m sure you can.” Phoebe reassured her. “But not against something like this.”

“Phoebe….”
“Don’t even try it Prue! Either she comes home with us or I go with her!”

Prue closed her eyes, trying to think around the throbbing in her head. Why couldn’t Phoebe see that she was only doing what she had to do to protect her family? They didn’t know the first thing about Paige. What if they invited her into their home and she ended up being in cahoots with the demon?

“Enough!” Piper clinched her jaw. “You two are worse than a couple of kids!” She looked at the woman with Phoebe. “Paige, I’m sorry you had to see them like this. They are both extremely stubborn and when they get like this they’ll never see eye to eye. So this is what we’re going to do. You’re coming home with us.” She tightened the grip she had on Prue’s arm when she saw her sister open her mouth to protest. “Phoebe’s right. Until we know more about whoever this demon is that’s after her, we should treat her like any other innocent. Besides, it will give us a chance to get to know her a little better.”

Piper shot Phoebe a look as she started to say something. “And no offense to you Paige, but Phoebe, you need to be prepared for the possibility that she’s not our sister. Prue is right, a letter and a couple of newspaper clippings aren’t exactly a signed confession from Mom that we have another sister.”

Phoebe shook her head. “I should have known you would side with her.” She looked at the older woman beside her. “Do you have a car, Paige?”
“Yes.” Paige was too stunned to be very loud.
“Then come on.” She gripped the older woman’s hand. “I’ll show you where the Manor is.”

“Wait for us!” Prue yelled after her as she stormed out of the office.

“You need to cut her some slack, Prue. You know family is the most important thing to her.”
Prue gave Piper a look. “And it’s not to me?”
“That’s not what I meant.” Piper sighed, knowing there was no talking to her big sister when she got like this. “We better catch up with them.”

Prue hesitated as they walked past the spot where the demon had disappeared.

“What do you think happened to him?”
Prue shook her head, uttering three words she absolutely hated. “I don’t know.”

The words swirled around her fractured thoughts as Piper led her out of the office. There were a few too many things she didn’t know right now.

Phoebe sat slumped in the passenger seat of Paige’s Voltswagon Beetle, arms crossed defensively across her chest. She was so mad at Prue she wanted to hit something. Where did her big sister get off dismissing her like she was some sort of child? She was a grown woman, damn it. And she was more than entitled to have her own opinion, especially when it came to something as important as having another sister.

She glanced at Paige, instantly feeling guilty for the tension she could practically see radiating from the woman. What a way to be greeted by the family you had always hoped for. Prue at her finest, demon attacks, having people doubt you to your face. Yet here she was, following the directions Phoebe had given her to the Manor. Either she was a true Warren or she was too scared to ditch the sisters and run.

Either way Phoebe liked her. Had since the instant she showed up at the club. There was something about her. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Even if Paige turned out not to be their sister, they would be friends. She could feel it.

“Should we have waited for them?”

Phoebe jumped when she heard Paige’s voice. “Huh?”
“Your sisters.” Paige risked a glance at her. “Will they be mad that we didn’t wait for them?”
“Who cares if they are?” Phoebe realized how harsh she sounded and sighed. “Look, I’ll deal with them, all right? Don’t worry about it.”
Paige chortled. “Easier said then done.”

Phoebe fell back into her thoughts, once again focusing on her anger toward Prue. Sure Paige hadn’t approached them at a very good time, but that didn’t mean Prue had to be such a hard ass about it. Was it so far fetched to think that the mother none of them really knew had had a child before any of them were born?

“Phoebe?”
“Yeah?” She looked up when she heard Paige’s voice again.
“You said 1329 Prescott, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I think we’re here.”

Phoebe looked out the window, shocked to find that they were, indeed, at the Manor already. “You can park in the driveway.”
“But won’t your sisters need to….”
“Remember what I said?” Phoebe raised her eyebrows. “I’ll worry about them.”
“All righty then.”

Phoebe fished in her pocket for her keys as they started across the lawn toward the house. She had made it halfway up the porch steps when she realized Paige wasn’t beside her anymore. She turned to find her standing in the yard, looking up at the house.

“This place is huge.”
Phoebe couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“How can you three afford something like this? I mean, I don’t make tons of money at my job, but I’m not hurting for money and there’s no way I could ever even dream of having this place.”
“Our Grams left it to us.”
“Oh.”

Phoebe felt like a heel as she finished climbing the steps and unlocked the door. She held it open, motioning for Paige to go inside.

“Welcome to the Halliwell Manor.”
Paige looked around in awe. “It’s beautiful. May I?”
Phoebe nodded. “Fill your boots.”

She watched as Paige disappeared into the living room, taking in everything as she went. Phoebe followed her, flopping down on the couch as Paige inspected the pictures on the mantle.

“I’m sorry.”

Phoebe frowned when she heard the words. “What?”
“I said I’m sorry.” Paige looked at her. “You know, for making things more than tense between you and your sisters.”
“Trust me, things were tense before you showed up.”
“Maybe, but me crashing the party, claiming to be your sister sure didn’t help.”

Phoebe swallowed hard, wondering if maybe they weren’t delving into something better left for when the four of them were together. But then she remembered the way her sisters, especially Prue, had reacted to Paige and told herself to go ahead. At least Paige would know she had someone on her side.

“Can I, uh….” Phoebe found it harder to start the conversation than she thought. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” Paige shrugged.
“Do you really think you’re our sister?”

Paige drew in a deep breath. “Despite the non warm fuzzy feeling I got at the club, yeah.” She nodded. “I really do think I’m your sister.”
Phoebe grinned. “I was afraid we might have scared you off.”
“Are you kidding, it would take a lot more than a little doubt to scare me off.”
“Well that’s good to know.” Phoebe pursed her lips. “Now can I ask why?”
Paige frowned. “Why what?”
“Why you think you’re our sister.”

“It’s kind of hard to explain.” Paige hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “There’s always been something missing in my life. Not anything physical.” She gestured with one hand. “More emotional. Like a piece of my heart wasn’t there. It’s kind of funny. I mentioned it to another orphan one time. A boy who wasn’t nearly as fortunate in the foster family game as I was.”

Phoebe motioned for her to sit down. “And what did he say?”

Paige sank into one of the chairs. “He said it was the family feeling. Something you got when you knew you had finally found your rightful place in life. I was eight at the time, so I didn’t pay much attention to him. But as I got older I thought about what he said and he was right. I loved the Matthews, but they weren’t where I belonged.”

Phoebe looked at her sadly. “Seems like they took pretty good care of you.”

“They did.” Paige nodded. “They were the best. But I never quite fit, you know? Not because of anything they did. Like I said before, they didn’t keep it a secret that I wasn’t their daughter. But they didn’t treat me like some kind of outsider either.” Tears filled her eyes.
“Paige, I….” Phoebe was at a loss for words. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t.” Paige shook her head. “Every tear I cry over them is like a tribute. It lets them know how much I loved them.”
Phoebe looked impressed. “That’s a beautiful way to think of it.”
“Yeah, that’s me.” Paige grinned. “I should write Hallmark cards.”

“So….” Phoebe cocked her head to one side. “Do you think you’ll ever find that family feeling?”
“I already did.” Paige met her gaze. “Tonight, at the club. As soon as we walked into that office and it was just the four of us, I felt it. That’s why I’m so sure I’m your sister.”

“Well I’m sorry Prue ruined the moment for you.” Phoebe practically growled the words.
“Prue didn’t ruin anything for me. She’s just watching out for her family. I’d do the same thing if someone came along claiming to be my long lost big sister.”
“Yeah, but she didn’t even give you a chance!”
“She hasn’t really had a chance to give me a chance, Phoebe. None of you got to even react to my news before that thing showed up.”

Phoebe shook her head. “I know Prue a lot better than you. Hell, we’ve been sisters my whole life and we’ve never once had the kind of conversation you and I are having right now.”
“Phoebe….”
“She never opens up to me.” Phoebe cut her off. “She’s always too busy trying to be my mom when all I really want is a big sister.”

She caught the look in Paige’s eye a moment too late and turned, shocked to find the big sister in question standing just behind the couch. Prue clinched her jaw.

“Paige, you can sleep wherever you want tonight.”

With that Prue turned on her heal and started upstairs. But not before Phoebe caught the tears swimming in her eyes.

“I better….”
“No, Phoebe.” Piper shot her little sister a look. “I think I better handle this one.” She gave Paige a, “Make yourself at home,” before hurrying up the stairs after her sister.

Phoebe sighed as she threw herself against the back of the couch. When would things ever get easier between her and Prue?

“Wow!” Phoebe scrunched up her nose as she turned another page in the book nestled on her lap. “We’re in trouble if we ever have to face half the things I’ve seen in this book.”

She waited for a response but none came.

“Cause most of them have been hit HARD by the ugly stick.”

Phoebe’s heart sank when Prue tucked her hair behind her ear, giving no indication that she had heard a word her sister spoke as she continued to dig through a box of books they had been through at least three times already. The silent treatment had always been one of Prue’s specialties. Especially after one of their infamous arguments. Normally if it went on this long Phoebe would storm out of the room, determined to stay away from her sister until Piper guilt tripped them both into kissing and making up. But this time there hadn’t been an argument. At least not one bad enough to warrant the current silence she was enduring. No, she had no one to blame for this but her own big mouth.

The look on Prue’s face as she studied one of the books she pulled from the box mirrored the one she had worn when she went upstairs the night before. A classic ‘I’m hurting but I can’t let anyone know it because I have to be strong’ Prue look. One that always drove Phoebe crazy. All Prue had to do was let her or Piper be the strong ones for once. Lean on them instead of shutting them out. But that would never happen.

Which left her as she was now, wishing she could turn back time to change what had happened. There was probably a spell in one of the books around her that would make that possible. But that smacked of personal gain. Besides, she was beginning to wonder if Prue was upset about what she said, or who she said it to.

She couldn’t explain why she had opened up to Paige so easily. Maybe it was because Paige had been honest with her. Knowing someone was sincere in what they were saying made it simple to tell them how you really felt. Or maybe it was because she knew Paige wouldn’t judge her for saying something she had wanted to say for a long, long time.

Phoebe closed her eyes, pushing the thought away. Now wasn’t the time or the place. What she needed to do was concentrate on helping Prue find the demon who had attacked Paige. That was the whole point in them being in the attic.

“Phoebe….”

She looked up when she heard her sister’s voice, shocked to see how pale Prue was. Her eyes instantly went to the ugly gash and angry looking bruise on her sister’s temple. Piper’s reassurance that Prue was fine went out the window as she scrambled to her feet, her heart hammering in her chest.

“What? What’s the matter?” Phoebe knocked over a stack of books in her quest to get to her sister. “Are you all right?”

“It’s Mom’s journal.” Prue’s eyes were wide as she held the book out toward her sister. “I found Mom’s journal.”

Phoebe took the slender book from her sister’s quaking grasp. Her own hands shook as she opened it, shocked to see her mother’s handwriting. She felt Prue move in closer as she started to read the first entry.

Mother was beyond upset today when I told her the news. She went on and on about how relationships between some magical beings are strictly forbidden. But what was I supposed to do? I got caught up in the heat of the moment. I certainly never meant to sleep with Sam, let alone get pregnant.

“Sam?” Phoebe shared a look with Prue. “As in her Whitelighter Sam?”
“That’s what it sounds like to me.” Prue returned her attention to the entry.

Now I am carrying a child that will have to pay for the mistakes of its parents. If I were a braver woman I would end it now. Put the poor thing out of its misery. But I’m not. I find myself attached to this new life growing inside of me. I can’t believe I’m going to be a mother.

“This proves it.” Phoebe swallowed hard as she closed the book. “Paige is our sister.”

“It doesn’t prove a thing.” Prue frowned at her. “Mom might have been pregnant, but that doesn’t mean Paige is our sister.”
“Prue….”
“She could be an imposter, Phoebe. Did you ever stop to think of that?!” Prue paced away from her sister. “I mean, what better way to eliminate the Charmed Ones then to get at us from the inside?”
“You honestly think that woman downstairs with Piper right now is some kind of plant meant to gain our trust and then cut our throats as we sleep?!” Phoebe looked at her in disbelief.
“Maybe!” Prue clinched her jaw. “We’ve seen evil wear much more clever disguises!”
“Damn it Prue! Why can’t you just accept that she’s telling us the truth?!”

“Prue? Phoebe? We thought we heard….”

Piper’s voice trailed off as she came rushing into the room, Paige hot on her heals. They both stopped when the spotted the eldest and youngest Halliwell standing toe to toe.

“What’s going on up here?” Piper frowned at them.

“Another sisterly dispute.”

They all four jumped when they heard the disembodied voice. Piper grabbed Paige’s hand, dragging her across the room to join Prue and Phoebe as white orbs began to swirl in front of the pedestal holding the Book of Shadows.

“You have nothing to be afraid of, darlings.” Patty Halliwell looked at them lovingly as she finally materialized. “At least not from me.”

“Mom.” Phoebe’s voice was little more than a whisper.

“Mom?” Paige looked at the apparition before them in awe. “But she’s dead.”
“It’s all part of the witch thing I was trying to explain to you downstairs.” Piper whispered. “At least I THINK it is.”

“I had to come to you, girls.” Patty took a step toward them. “Had to explain to you what happened all those years ago.”

“I think that would be a good idea.” Prue scowled.

“Sam, as you know, was my Whitelighter.”

Paige opened her mouth to say something but Piper silenced her with a nudge. Patty didn’t seem to notice as she continued.

“We had just saved an innocent from certain death at the hands of a coven of warlocks. The fight was long and hard and we were both riding the emotional high of saving someone. Things got a little out of hand and we….” Patty hung her head. “We slept together.”

“What?!” Piper’s hand went to her mouth as the word escaped her lips.

“Neither of us meant for it to happen.” Patty sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as her girls. “But it did. And we had Paige.”

Phoebe turned to look at her newfound sister. For her part Paige was staring at Patty, completely blown away.

“We knew we couldn’t let the Elders find out about her. So we gave her up right after she was born.” Patty’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry, Paige. But we couldn’t risk what the Elders might do to you or to us if they found out about what had happened. Letting someone else raise you seemed like the best thing for everyone involved.”

“What about keeping it from us?” Prue found her tongue again as she stepped away from her sisters. “Was that best for everyone involved too? For us to have another sister out there that we didn’t know about? One who was bound to be just as affected as we were when Phoebe read the spell that unleashed our powers?”
“Prue, I….”
“And what’s with showing up now, Mom? This warrants a visit from the great beyond when other things like us struggling through our teenage years and finding out about the family heritage and losing Andy didn’t?” Tears streamed down Prue’s cheeks. “There were plenty of other times we’ve needed you. Why now?”

“I….” Patty looked at her other daughters. “I had to tell you about Paige. She needs your protection.”

“Of course we’ll protect her!” Prue spat out the words. “Even if she wasn’t our sister we would take care of her! That’s what we do!” She ran a shaky hand through her hair. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”
“But….”
“JUST GO!!”

Patty flinched at her daughter’s words. “Maybe you’re right, Prue. Maybe I shouldn’t have come. But I’m trying to do what I think is right for my family. For all four of my daughters.” Tears glistened on her ghostly cheeks. “I love you all.”

With that Patty disappeared in another swirl of white orbs. Everyone stood for a moment, too stunned to say anything.

“I can’t believe you just did that!” Phoebe’s voice finally penetrated the silence as she turned on Prue. “What gave you the right to drive Mom away like that?!”

Prue didn’t even look at her sisters as she ran out of the room.

“Oh no you don’t!” Phoebe hurried after her. “You’re not walking away from this one, Prue!!”

Piper pinched the bridge of her nose as she looked at Paige. “Welcome to the family.”

“Prue?” Piper rapped gently on her sister’s door. “Can I come in?”

“Give it up, Piper.” Phoebe advised her sister from where she was leaning against the wall across the hall. “She’s too chicken shit to come out!” She raised her voice halfway through the sentence, hoping it would help Prue hear her.

Piper shot her a look before returning her attention to the door. “You can’t stay in there forever, sweetie.”
“Yeah! You’ll have to come out to pee sometime! And when you do, I’ll be here!”

Piper snapped her fingers, pointing at her sister as a silent warning. “Can you at least let me know you’re all right?”

“I don’t get it, Piper.” Phoebe shook her head as she pushed away from the wall and walked the few feet to her sister. “She doesn’t deserve anyone’s concern!” She raised her voice again, giving the door a not so gentle kick.

“That does it!” Piper grabbed Phoebe by the arm, dragging her back across the hall. “You will go to your room and you will keep your mouth shut until I get Prue to come out of that room or so help me….!”

“Wait a minute.” Phoebe held up one hand to silence her sister. “Prue is the one who totally blew things with Mom earlier and I’m the one you’re threatening?” She looked confused. “In what universe does that make sense?”

“Don’t try to turn this around on me, Phoebe.” Piper shook her head. “I don’t necessarily agree with what Prue did earlier, but you standing outside her door like some kind of attack dog isn’t helping anything.”

“Well excuse me for not wanting to let her get away with being so hard on Mom. Not to mention Paige.”
Piper sighed. “You have no idea what she’s going through right now.”
“And you do?” Phoebe furrowed her brow. “Since when has she started confiding in you?”
“Phoebe….”

“No, Piper.” Phoebe shook her head as she paced away from her sister. “Don’t even start spouting off about how hard Prue has always had it again. I was around growing up just like you were. But nothing can justify what she did to Mom. Nothing.”

Paige chose that moment to come out of the bathroom, fresh from the shower. “Hey guys.” She adjusted the belt on the robe Piper had lent her as she walked toward them. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing much.” Phoebe barely spared her a glance. “Just telling Piper here how sick I am of hearing what a saint Prue is.”
“Oh.” Paige immediately looked uncomfortable.
“Look, Paige.” Piper put her hand on her newest sister’s arm. “Why don’t you go in my room and pick out something to wear? Raid the closet all you want.”

“Fun as that sounds, I think I’ll stay here.” Paige gave Piper a grateful look. “I’m never going to become a member of this family if you keep shielding me from what’s going on.”

“Trust me.” Piper sighed. “You don’t want any part of this.”
Paige frowned. “Why not?”
“Because Prue’s always right in Piper’s eyes.” Phoebe chimed in.
“Because Phoebe and Prue are so much alike it’s not even funny.” Piper fired back at her little sister. “And getting caught in the middle of one of their arguments is someplace gods fear to tread. I think it would be better to ease you into one.”
“I’ve already found out I have three little sisters and I’m a witch. I think I can handle an argument.” Paige nodded. “So throw me in. Who knows, maybe I can even help.”

“No offense, Paige, but this is none of your business.” Phoebe glared at Piper. “Just like it’s none of yours. This is between me and….”

“Me.”

They all three turned when they heard the almost inaudible word to find Prue standing in the now open doorway of her room.

“Well it’s about time.” Phoebe moved toward her. “I thought I was going to have to break the door down.”

“I didn’t come out here to fight with you, Phoebe.” Prue looked tired. “I just wanted to apologize to all three of you for how I acted in the attic. A lot has happened in the last few months and it all seemed to hit me when I heard Mom saying Paige really was our sister.” She turned her gaze to Paige. “I’m sorry if I made you feel unwelcome.”

Paige shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“Like hell it’s not!” Phoebe frowned at Paige for a second before turning her wrath on Prue. “You treat Paige like crap and bite Mom’s head off and you think an ‘I’m sorry’ is going to make everything all right?!”

“I apologized to Mom too. I don’t know if she heard me….” Prue looked toward the ceiling. “But I hope she did.”

“I can’t believe this!” Phoebe was exasperated. “You go off the deep end, lock yourself in your room for hours and then come out looking all pathetic and expect everyone to feel sorry for you? Well I don’t!” She jabbed her finger in Prue’s chest. “I want a better explanation. I want to know why you think you can keep pushing us away and expecting us to accept your lame ass apologies!”

“Phoebe.” Piper looked at her in disbelief.
“And you’re not making excuses for her this time!” Phoebe silenced her with a glare. “She’s a big girl. She can speak for herself.”

But Prue didn’t speak. She just stood there, shoulder’s slumped, taking in her baby sister’s words.

“Well this is a first.” Phoebe pursed her lips as she walked a circle around Prue. “The mighty Prue Halliwell at a lose for words.” She shook her head. “You know what’s sad? Paige has been in our lives less than twenty-four hours and I already know her better than I know you. What does that say about our sisterhood? I’ll tell you what it says to me.” Phoebe stared into her sister’s blue eyes. “It tells me Paige is going to be ten times the big sister you’ve ever been.”

Prue moved lightning quick, shoving Phoebe to the floor. The youngest Halliwell landed with a thud on her backside, more angry words jumping to her tongue until she saw why her sister had manhandled her. A demon had appeared behind her. One with a nice, shiny athame. Prue had barely managed to get her out of the way and grab the arm wielding the weapon before he buried it deep in her back.

“Whoa!” Piper threw her hands in the air, freezing the demon before he could shake Prue off and launch a new attack. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah.” Phoebe nodded as she climbed to her feet, her eyes glued to the demon. “Where the hell did he come from?”
“He just appeared out of nowhere.” Paige looked shaken.

“Probably another member of the elusive Drahnel clan.” Prue turned toward her sisters, all business. “We should….”

It all happened so fast it didn’t seem real. The demon unfroze, the athame in his hand continuing on the deadly path it had been taking before, sinking deep into the back of Prue’s left shoulder. Her voice died in her throat as her eyes went wide in shock. She somehow had the presence of mind to throw him with her power before her knees buckled.

“Prue!!” Piper rushed toward her sister, trying to catch her before she hit the floor. She saw the demon getting up and tried to freeze him again, but nothing happened. She looked at her hand in shock before trying again with the same result. “Oh shit!”

Prue saw what was happening and tried to use her power again too but got the same results as her sister. The demon smiled as he picked himself up off the floor.

“Stupid witches. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t come better prepared than my brother? Once I’ve tasted your puny powers, they are useless against me.”

Piper pulled Prue close as the demon started toward them.

“Paige!” Prue looked at the newest member of their family. “Get Phoebe out of here.”
Paige blinked as if she were coming out of a trance. “What?”
“Get Phoebe out of here!” Prue repeated herself.
“How?”
“Orb.” Piper answered for Prue.
“What?!” Paige looked a them like they were crazy.
“The disappearing thing you can do!” Piper’s voice got louder as the demon got closer. “Take Phoebe’s hand and do it. Get her out of here!”

“No!” Phoebe started toward her sisters. “I’m not leaving you two here!”

“Paige….” Prue stared into her sister’s confused brown eyes. “Please.”

Phoebe felt a hand close around her wrist, stopping her progress toward her sisters. She followed the arm attached to it back to Paige. “No.” She tried to pull free. “I have to help them!”

“I’m sorry.”

Paige’s words were barely audible as they started to disappear. Phoebe looked desperately toward her sisters, the love in both their eyes the last thing she saw before nothingness consumed her.

“NO!!”

The word screamed through Phoebe’s senses rather than passing from her lips, making the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach intensify with each passing moment. It felt like she was falling. Tumbling through time and space so fast that everything around her was a blur. And just when it felt like she was going to come apart at the seams, it stopped.

“Ugh!” She ripped her arm out of the grasp holding it, throwing herself off balance so bad she fell in a heap on the floor.

“Whoa, Phoebe. Are you all right?”

The words were lost on her as her mind struggled to catch up with her body.

“Just take it easy. The effects were pretty bad for me the first time too. But they pass pretty quick.”

She somehow caught ‘effects, bad and time’ as she curled up in a ball.

“I’ll, uh…. I’ll get you some water or something.”

She closed her eyes, willing the spinning in her head and the lurching in her stomach to stop. The coolness of the floor seeped into her, soothing her frazzled body to the point it finally relaxed.

Her thoughts instantly turned to the night before. Serving drinks had never been one of her favorite jobs as part owner of a swank night club. But Piper had been desperate and Prue had already laid claim to bartending, so she did what she had to do. The college kids who packed the place were loud and hyper, but they were good tippers. That’s why she let the guy at her last table get a little frisky. But when his friskiness went from butt pinching to butt cupping she decided to tell him off. That’s when Prue showed up and it all went downhill.

Sometimes she just wanted to grab her big sister and shake the shit out of her. She wasn’t a child anymore. The sooner Prue realized that, the better.

“Here you go, Phoebe. This might help.”

She jumped when she heard the voice, pushing herself into a half sitting position. As soon as she saw Paige everything else came back to her. Paige confronting them at the club. The demon attack. Their mother admitting her affair with Sam. Fighting with Prue.

Her breath caught in her throat as visions of the second demon attack filled her head. More specifically the sight of Prue getting stabbed and the demon advancing on her powerless sisters.

“Prue?” Her voice reflected the urgency in her eyes. “Piper?!” She looked up at Paige. “Where are they?!”

“Phoebe, I….” Paige fidgeted uncomfortably. “I only did what they told me to do.”

“Told you to do?” Phoebe frowned as she climbed to her feet, taking in her surroundings as she did. “Where are we?”
Paige looked around too. “My place.”
“Your place?!” Phoebe looked at her like she was crazy. “What the hell are we doing here?!”

Paige shrugged. “It was the first place that came to mind when Prue and Piper said to get you out of the house.”

“Oh God.” Phoebe closed her eyes. “We have to go back.”
“No.” Paige shook her head. “Prue and Piper were pretty specific about getting you away from the scary man. I’m sure they’ll come find us when they’ve handled him.”

“Paige, can you hear yourself?” Phoebe looked at her in disbelief. “First of all, how the hell are Piper and Prue supposed to know where you live? And did you NOT see that their powers weren’t working against that demon?! You took me away when they needed me the most!!”

“I’m sorry, I….” Paige swallowed hard. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

Phoebe sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “No, I’m sorry. You don’t know all the witchy stuff yet. But you have to take me back, Paige. That demon could….” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words. “Prue and Piper are in trouble. Big trouble.”

“Then shouldn’t we stay here?” Paige frowned. “You know, out of the line of fire?”

“No!” Phoebe took a deep breath. “That’s not how the sister thing works, Paige. When one of us is in trouble, we’re there for her. We stick together no matter what.”
“It doesn’t seem like you’ve been sticking with Prue much since I showed up.”

Paige’s words were like a fist to Phoebe’s stomach. “I…. Our relationship is hard to explain. And we don’t have time to go into it right now.” She reached for her sister’s hand. “Take me back to the Manor, Paige. Please.”

Paige hesitated a moment before taking her hand. As soon as she did the room around them faded, replaced mere seconds later by the familiar surroundings of the living room at Manor. Phoebe felt her body protesting again but fought through it this time.

“Prue?! Piper?!” Her voice broke the eerie silence engulfing the house as she took the stairs to the second floor two at a time, hoping against hope that they weren’t too late. Her step faltered when she found the hallway empty.

“Piper?!” She called for her sisters again as she went from room to room. “Prue?!”

She emerged into the hallway again, her breath coming in ragged half sobs as she fell to her knees next to the spot where she had last seen her sisters. All that remained was a bloodstain where Prue had fallen.

“Oh, Prue.” Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the spot. “What have I done?”

“Phoebe?” Paige spoke tentatively as she came up behind her sister. “Any luck?”

The only answer Phoebe could manage was a shake of her head.

“What do we do now?” Paige squatted beside her. “Is there someone we can call?”

Phoebe started to shake her head again when she realized there WAS someone they could call.

“Leo.”
Paige frowned at her whispered response. “Who?”
“Leo.” Phoebe tore her eyes away from the bloodstain. “Our Whitelighter.” She tipped her head back. “Leo!”
Paige’s frown deepened. “What are you doing?”
“Leo!” Phoebe ignored her question. “LEO!!”

Paige’s eyes got big as saucers as a man appeared behind her sister. “Look out, Phoebe!” She shoved her aside, much as Prue had done before. “I won’t let you take her!”

The man frowned at her. “Who are you?”
“Who am I?” Paige returned his frown. “Who are you?”

“He’s Leo….” Phoebe spoke as she got to her feet. “Our Whitelighter. Leo, this is Paige.”
Leo offered Paige his hand. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”
Paige eyed his hand suspiciously. “I’m not so sure of that.”
“Relax, Paige. Leo’s one of the good guys.” Phoebe looked at Leo. “And I’ll explain who Paige is just as soon as you tell me where Piper and Prue are.”

“Piper and Prue?” Leo’s frown deepened. “What happened?”

“The usual.” Phoebe gestured at him impatiently. “Just do whatever it is you do and tell me where they are.”

Paige cocked an eyebrow as Leo shut his eyes. “What’s he doing?”
“He can sense us.” Phoebe never took her eyes off Leo. “He should be able to tell me where Prue and Piper are.”

A heavy silence fell over the hallway as Leo’s brow furrowed and relaxed several times. After what seemed like an eternity he opened his eyes again.

“Well?” Phoebe looked at him hopefully.
“I’m sorry, Phoebe.”

A chill ran down the youngest Halliwell’s spine as Leo continued.

“I can’t sense either of them anywhere.”

Piper held her breath, eyes closed tight in anticipation of the attack she knew was coming. She had tried to be brave as the demon advanced on her and Prue, but the thought of actually staring eminent death in the face was a bit too much. Her whole body tensed when she felt the demon’s hand fall on her shoulder and then….

Nothing. No stabbing. No hitting. No kicking. No nothing. Just the vague awareness of holding Prue in her arms and absolute silence. The sensation only lasted a few seconds before the world around her exploded back to life.

Her eyes flew open to a whole new world of sights and sound. The pristine walls of the Manor had been replaced with the rough hewn rock walls of what appeared to be some sort of cavern. And a brood of angry looking men and women had taken up residence where Phoebe and Paige had stood just moments before.

“Daeyl.”

Piper jumped as their attacker came into view beside them.

“Kaunaf.” The men and women parted, letting a particularly muscular man step forward. “What have we here?”

“The Charmed Ones.”

Daeyl frowned. “That’s funny.” He walked toward them. “I always thought there were three Charmed Ones.”
“There are.” Kaunaf was quick to answer. “The third one got away with the newcomer. But….”

“But? BUT?!” Daeyl’s voice boomed. “I send you for three witches and you bring me two?!” He snarled. “And one of them is damaged!”

Piper looked down at Prue for the first time, shocked at how pale her sister was.

“I….” Kaunaf’s eyes were wide.
“You failed me.”

The energy ball barely had a chance to form in Daeyl’s hand before it flew through the air, slamming into its intended victim. Kaunaf’s screams echoed off the walls as raw energy coursed over his body. It seemed like his suffering lasted an eternity when it was over almost before it started.

“Good help is so hard to find.”

Daeyl spoke as Kaunaf disappeared from view. Piper swallowed hard as he turned his gaze on her.

“Cala!” Daeyl called out to one of the women in the group. “Bring her whatever she needs to tend to her sister.” He locked eyes with Piper. “You better not let her die before we find your sister. I don’t intend to let the Source down.”

His words sent a chill down Piper’s spine. Die? Who said anything about anyone dying? She turned her attention back to her sister as he stalked back over to the crowd.

“Prue?” She tapped her sister on the cheek. “Come on, sweetie.”

“Here.” The woman Daeyl had spoken to sat a bowl of water and some rags down next to Piper. “Good luck.” She smirked as she stood back up. “She’s not looking so hot.”

Piper glared at her as she too rejoined the group. She waited to make sure no one else was going to join them before carefully lowering Prue to the ground. Her breath caught in her throat as she rolled her sister onto her stomach, catching her first look at the jagged wound in her shoulder. The back of her shirt was soaked in blood, not to mention what had pooled on the ground since their arrival.

“It’s all right.” Piper’s hand shook as she dipped one of the rags in the water. “You’re going to be fine.” Tears filled her eyes as she gently cleaned the wound. “We’ll get you all cleaned up, good as new.”

“Piper….”

She literally jumped when she heard the sound. “Prue?!”
“Shhh.” Prue pointed toward Daeyl, who was having an animated conversation with another man. “They’re….” Her voice was breathless. “Talking about…. Phoebe.”
“What?” Piper frowned as she concentrated on the two men.

“We need the third Charmed One.”
“And we will have her, Daeyl. As you told the witch, we have not come this far to disappoint the Source now.”
“Then why are you telling me to wait? I say we strike while the iron is hot.”
“And lose even more of the clan? The Elders are bound to know what has happened to these two. They will be guarding the youngest. Gather more of the clan. Go in with a show of force and there can be no doubt about you coming away with the youngest.”
“You’re right.”
“And what of the newcomer?”

Piper knew they were talking about Paige and strained to catch what they were saying as they walked out of the chamber.

“The newcomer is nothing to us. Whoever gets her can keep her.”

“They’re in…. trouble.”

Piper resisted the urge to say ’ya think’ as she looked down at her sister. They were all in trouble.

*************

Phoebe sighed as she flipped through the Book of Shadows for what seemed like the millionth time. So far there had been no magical assistance in helping her find a spell to find her sisters.

“Maybe you guys should think about indexing that thing.”

Phoebe looked up when she heard Paige’s voice.

“Might make it easier to find what you’re looking for.”
“Thanks.” Phoebe tried not to sound condescending. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Paige gave her a smile as she went back to exploring the mountain of junk in the attic. That’s what she had been doing since Leo went to see what the Elders knew, leaving Phoebe to cast a protection spell on the house and scour the Book of Shadows for anything that might help.

“Phoebe?”

She screamed when she heard the voice behind her. She instantly went into attack mode, taking a swing as she turned on the intruder.

“Whoa!” Leo caught her hand in his own. “Easy, Phoebe. It’s just me.”
“Leo!” Phoebe glared at him.
“Didn’t you cast a protection spell like I told you to?”

“Of course she did. Right after you left in fact.” Paige picked up a book, studying the print on it’s spine before putting it down again. “But that doesn’t mean now is so not the time to be sneaking up on her like that.”
Phoebe nodded. “What she said.”
“I’m sorry.” Leo shrugged. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Phoebe swallowed hard as she studied the unreadable expression on her Whitelighter’s face. “Well, what did they say?”
“You’re not going to like it.”
“Leo!” She growled his name.

“You’re not strong enough to find your sisters on your own.”
Phoebe frowned, trying to keep her emotions in check. “Meaning?”
“Meaning you’re going to need help.”
“Help?” Phoebe threw her hands in the air. “Where the hell am I supposed to get this help from? My sisters are GONE, Leo! And it’s not like I can call up all our witchy friends. What am I supposed to do, take out a classified ad?!”
“Phoebe, calm down.”
“Calm down?!” Phoebe quirked an eyebrow. “Did you just have the nerve to stand there and tell me to CALM DOWN?! My sisters are God knows where with some demon clan and YOU’RE telling ME to CALM DOWN?!!”

The tears she had been holding in finally spilled down her cheeks, prompting Leo to take her in his arms.

“Phoebe, the Drahnel clan work for the ruler of the underworld. The Source. He is way too powerful for you to take on by yourself.”
“Then what am I supposed to do, Leo?” Phoebe looked up at him. “I can’t just leave them there.”
“I know.” Leo rubbed her back. “And as for your help, you already have it.”
“What?”
Leo looked at Paige. “She’s a Warren too.”

“You can’t be serious!” Phoebe pulled away from him. ‘You just got done saying the Source is too powerful for me to take on and I’ve been one of the most powerful witches on earth for over a year now. But you want me to drag her into it when she hasn’t been a witch for a day?”

“She’s all you’ve got Phoebe.”
“But….”
“The two of you only need to write a spell that will take you to your sisters before the clan comes looking for you. Once you’re together the power of three should be enough to handle anything the clan throws at you.”
Phoebe frowned. “Should be?”
“Phoebe, we don’t have time for this.”

Phoebe looked at her newest sister. “So what, we’re talking a crash course in being a witch?”
“Yes.” Leo nodded. “And you better hurry. You’re running out of time.”

“So let me see if I have this straight.” Paige paced across the attic. “Our line started way back when with Melinda Warren who had the same powers as you, Prue and Piper. She was burned at the stake as a witch.”

Phoebe nodded. “Unfortunately.”

“Since her each generation of Warren witches has grown stronger and stronger.” Paige continued. “Culminating in you three. The Charmed Ones.”

Phoebe nodded again.

“And you had no idea that you were witches until about a year ago?”
“No, we didn’t. Grams bound our powers right after I was born to shield us from a warlock.”
“Nicolas.”

Phoebe looked up at Paige, obviously surprised.

“What?” Paige frowned.
“I never mentioned Nicolas.”
“He’s in the Book of Shadows. I read about him when I was looking through it earlier.”

Phoebe looked down at the book, shocked to see it was indeed open to the page on Nicolas.

“So Grams bound your powers to insure that he wouldn’t come after you until she found a way to deal with him. But she died before that could happen and you stumbled across the book, read the first incantation and unleashed the powers of the Charmed Ones.” Paige nodded. “Sounds like something straight out of a comic book. Or some show on the Sci-Fi channel.”

Phoebe couldn’t stop herself from grinning. Paige had a knack for throwing out one liners even when she was trying to be serious. It reminded Phoebe a lot of Piper.

Paige started to pace again. “The Book of Shadows has been passed down from generation to generation, each one adding information about evils it has faced and how to get rid of them.”
Phoebe fingered the edge of the book. “It’s saved our butts more than a few times.”

“It’s the whole who we work for thing that I’m still a bit fuzzy on.” Paige rejoined her sister, sitting down next to her on the small couch. “Can we go over it again?”
“Of course.” Phoebe turned sideways so she was facing Paige. “We work for a group of beings known as the Elders.”
“And they are the head honchos of everything good?”
“So we’ve been told.”
“You say that with a lot of skepticism.” Paige raised her eyebrow. “Do you think maybe there’s someone else above them?”

Phoebe stopped to think about it for a second, slightly taken aback by how much like Prue Paige had just sounded. She and her big sister had had a very similar talk not long after Prue decided she wanted to know more about being a witch. Her habit of being like a dog with a bone when it came to soaking up new information obviously ran in the family.

“Yeah.” She finally answered. “I guess I do. I mean, everyone has to answer to someone, right?”
“Right.” Paige furrowed her brow. “And Leo works for them.”
“As a Whitelighter.”
“Like my dad.”
Phoebe tried to read Paige’s expression. “Like your dad.”

Paige leaned back against the couch, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I hate to do it, but can we take a break from all this witchy stuff for a bit? I’m suffering from serious information overload.”

Phoebe wanted to say no, but how could she? Paige had already learned in a few hours what it had taken her, Piper and Prue months to keep straight. She couldn’t afford to fry her brain before they had a chance to write the spell that would take them to their sisters.

“Sure. I’ll, uh….” Phoebe shrugged. “I’ll go get us something to drink.”

“No.” Paige gripped her hand as she started to stand. “I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant my brain needs some time to process what you’ve told me so far.”
Phoebe looked confused. “OK.”
“So change the subject.” Paige let go of her, gesturing with her now free hand. “Talk about something else.”
“Like?”
“Tell me about Prue and Piper.”

The request caught Phoebe off guard.

“I mean sure I’ve met them, but you’ve known them your whole life.”
Phoebe swallowed hard, not sure if this was a topic of discussion she was ready for. “What do you want to know?”
“Anything.” Paige shrugged. “Everything.”

Phoebe hesitated. “I’ll start with Piper.” The corner of her mouth turned up when she thought of her sister. “She is one of the sweetest, gentlest, most loving people you could ever hope to meet. You know that line from the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme? ‘Who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile.’ That’s Piper to a tee. I could be having the shittiest day known to man and one hug from her puts me right back up there on top of the world. She’s always been there for me. Supported me no matter what.”

“Wow.” Paige looked impressed.

“You have no idea.” Phoebe shook her head.
“You make her sound too good to be true.”
“Don’t get me wrong, everyone has their faults. With Piper it’s going spastic about even the littlest thing. Not to mention how squeamish she is when it comes to blood. The mere sight of it sends her into a tail spin.”
Paige grinned. “Me too. I just can’t stomach it.”
“Piper will be glad to know she’s not the only one.”

Paige’s grin slowly faded. “What about Prue?”

“Prue.” Phoebe sighed. “What can I say about Prue? She’s bossy and pushy and likes to be in control all the time.”
“The real my way or the highway type, huh?”
Phoebe nodded. “She’s always sticking her nose into my or Piper’s business, giving us advice even when we don’t ask for it. And heaven forbid you should disagree with her about something.”
It was Paige’s turn to nod. “I got that impression.”

Phoebe looked at her newest sister, a frown creasing her brow as she tried to gauge Paige’s feelings toward Prue.

“But that’s all part of being the oldest. Prue took on a lot after our mom died. Grams had a heart condition. She could only deal with so much out of the three of us. So Prue stepped in whenever she had to.” Phoebe got a faraway look in her eyes. “I can remember having this nasty cold one time. The type that knocks the crap out of you but won’t let you rest either. Prue wouldn’t let Grams or Piper take care of me. Even after she caught it and was sick as a dog too. She ended up in bed for a week after I was better.”

Paige grinned. “Sounds like she loves you a lot.”
“She does.”

The words surprised Phoebe as they came out of her mouth. She had never really stopped to think about the motivation behind many of the things Prue did. Sure her big sister annoyed the shit out of her sometimes, but it came from a good place. Prue’s heart.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Phoebe looked at Paige, shocked to find her vision swimming with tears. “You didn’t. It’s just….” Phoebe blinked back fresh tears. “I’m worried about them.”
“I know.” Paige drew her into a hug. “Me too.”

Phoebe put her arms around Paige, finally letting her tears fall. She sat there, safe in the arms of one sister, wondering if she would ever feel the loving embrace of Prue or Piper again.

“We….”

Piper jumped when she heard the soft sound coming from the form cradled in her arms. “Prue?”
Prue opened her eyes. “We have to…. get out of here.”

“What?!” Piper looked up, making sure the lone clan member guarding them hadn’t heard her. “What are you talking about?”
“Phoebe….” Prue grimaced as she tried to sit up. “And Paige….”
“I’m sure they’re trying to find a way to get us home.”
“No.” Prue shook her head. “Not…. that….” She pushed Piper’s restraining hand away and somehow made it to a sitting position. “They’re in danger.”

“You think they’re in danger?” Piper scoffed. “Look around, Prue. I would say we’re in some pretty hot water ourselves here.”
“They don’t have active powers.”
“I know they don’t have active powers. At least I don’t think Paige has any active powers.” Piper shook her head. “But I’m sure Leo and the Elders are looking out for them.”
“We have to help them.”
“And just how the hell are we supposed to do that?”
“The tunnel.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “I knew you were listening to those clan members earlier! But we can’t trust them, Prue. So they said there’s a tunnel to the surface nearby. So what! How do we know there is one. And if there is, how do we know it will take us back to San Francisco? We could end up in Hong Kong!”

“We have to try.” Prue tried to sound stern as she used the wall beside her to stand.

“Hey!” The guard turned toward them when he heard the noise she was making. “Where do you think you’re going witch?!”

“Home.” Prue concentrated on a nearby rock, sending it across the chamber. It bounced off the demon’s head, knocking him out instantly.

“Prue!” Piper flew to her feet when she saw her sister swaying, the effort obviously taking a lot out of her. “Are you crazy?!”
“Like a…. fox.” Prue grinned as she gasped. “Let’s go.”

Piper supported her sister’s weight as they made their way out of the chamber, hoping they were doing the right thing.

*************

“Powers come to we who ask….” Paige tapped her chin as she paced around the solarium. “So we can kick some demon ass?”

Phoebe chortled. “Nice try.”
“Does it have to rhyme?”
“The best ones always do.”
“Great.” Paige sighed as she sunk down on the chair opposite her sister at the wicker table. “I just had to stink at english in school.”

“This one’s not working anyway.” Phoebe sighed as she waded up the piece of paper she had been writing on, sending it to join many of its counterparts in the trashcan by the table.
Paige frowned. “What was wrong with that one?”
“It just didn’t feel right.” Phoebe saw the confusion on her sister’s brow. “It’s hard to explain. Let’s just say that when you’ve written a spell that will actually work, you’ll know it.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Paige raised her eyebrows.

Silence fell over the room again. The same kind of silence that had fallen between them a lot in the last hour.

“So let’s try again.”

Phoebe appreciated Paige’s determination. She was still a little iffy when it came to contributing to the spell, but that was to be expected. She and Prue and Piper hadn’t jumped right in when the time came for them to write their first one.

Thinking her sister’s names brought a lump to her throat. They had been gone for what seemed like an eternity now. All she could see was the look of love in their eyes as they urged Paige to get her out of the hallway. That’s what the two of them did best. Looked out for her. Kept her safe no matter what the cost to themselves. And how was she repaying them? She was staring at yet another blank piece of paper.

“Damn it!!”

Phoebe swept everything off the table, making Paige jump.

“Whoa!” Paige gave her a look. “What was that for?”
“This is so damned frustrating I can’t even see straight!” Phoebe got up, stalking across the room. “Spell writing has never been this hard for me before! I mean, look at this….” She picked up the trash can, empting it on the floor. “Who fails that many times when it comes to saving their sisters? WHO?!”

“Phoebe….”
“Don’t even try it, Paige! I’m not failing some innocent that I don’t have any feelings for here! I’m failing my sisters! OUR sisters!! They’re down there right now with that damned clan having who knows what done to them!”

Phoebe stormed back across the room, picking up the papers she had just knocked to the floor and shredding them. “I don’t understand why this is happening!!”

Paige watched her as she went back to the center of the room before grabbing the pen off the floor.

“What am I supposed to do?!” Phoebe looked toward the ceiling for guidance as she fell to her knees. “How am I supposed to get them back when I can’t even write a spell?!” She picked up one of the wads of paper and crushed in even tighter. “HOW?!!”

“Phoebe?” Paige got up from the table, a scrap of paper in her hand. “What about this?”

Phoebe looked at her sister, tears still coursing down her cheeks. “I already told you, none of the ones we’ve written will work.”
“This isn’t one of ours.” Paige pressed the paper into her sister’s hand. “I just wrote it.”

Phoebe sniffled as she turned her attention to the words on the paper. She had to read them through twice to make sure she had gotten them right.

“I know, it sucks, right?” Paige tried to take the paper back. “I’ll just rip it up like the others and….”
“No.” Phoebe kept her grip on the spell. “Paige, you did it.”
Paige looked shocked. “I did?”
“Yeah, I think you did.”

Phoebe climbed to her feet, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her free hand. Paige stood from her squatting position.

“You mean it feels right?”
“I mean it feels right.”
Paige smiled. “I feel like breaking my arm patting myself on the back.”

Phoebe gripped her sister’s hand. “How about we save that until we get back?”
Paige looked shocked again. “You mean we’re going now?”
“Yeah. We have the spell. Why wait?”
“I….” Paige swallowed hard. “No reason.”

Phoebe gave her sister a sidelong glance. “Paige, are you all right?”
“Sure.”
“Paige?”
“All right, all right. I’m a little wigged out about going to hell. But can you blame me?”

“No.” Phoebe mentally kicked herself. Who wouldn’t be freaked out at the prospect of actually going to the underworld? “I wish I could say you had nothing to be worried about, but I can’t. But I can promise you that Prue, Piper and I won’t let anything happen to you if we can help it.”
“I know.” Paige gave Phoebe a gentle smile. “What do you say we give that thing a whirl?”

Phoebe held the paper so they could both see it, their voices blending on the words.

“To save two souls in grave despair
We offer up this humble dare
Open for us a cosmic door
To reunite we sisters four.”

Nothing happened at first, so Phoebe squeezed Paige’s hand, signaling her to say it again. It wasn’t until their fourth time through that they felt the power kick in. A strong breeze picked up around them, drowning their voices out. Phoebe heard Paige shouting and joined back in. A few more times and the breeze became a whirlwind. It swirled madly around them for the span of another chant before disappearing as quickly as it had come.

“Wow!” Paige clung to Phoebe’s hand. “That was intense!”
“Yeah.” Phoebe took in their surroundings. “Looks like we made it.”
Paige looked around too. “So where do we go from here?”

They both jumped as someone came bustling out of the shadows. It took Phoebe a moment to realize it was Piper. And she was dragging an extremely pale Prue.

“Oh my God!” Piper’s eyes got wide when she saw the two of them. “How did you….” She waved away her own question. “Never mind. That can wait.”

Paige hurried forward to help her with Prue. “Are you two all right?”
“I’m fine.” Piper looked sadly at Prue.

“Me…. too….” Prue panted.
“Yeah, well you look like death warmed over.” Phoebe tried to lighten the mood, not wanting to give in to the panic that rose in her throat when she saw the state her big sister was in.
“Gee….” Prue gave her a look. “Thanks.”

“How do we get out of here?” Paige voiced the question on everyone’s mind.
“There’s supposedly a tunnel leading to the surface somewhere around here.” Piper supplied the only answer she had.
Phoebe nodded. “Yeah, but now that we’re here….”

“Now that you’re here you’ve made me a very happy demon.” Daeyl smiled as he and what seemed like a million clan members appeared from the same direction Prue and Piper had come. “Take them!!”

“NO!!”

Prue’s voice echoed off the walls as she pushed away from Piper and Paige, calling on her powers as she held her hand out in front of her. Daeyl went flying, slamming into his demons. They landed in a heap on the ground.

“How dare you?!” Daeyl glared at her. “I will….”

“Be shutting up now.” Piper froze the group. “OK, we need to figure out what we’re going to do and fast because I have a feeling that’s not going to last very long.”

“Paige, orb Phoebe out of here.” Prue paused for a second, trying to recover from using her powers again. “Piper and I will….”
“No, Prue.” Phoebe interrupted her. “If Paige is going to orb anyone out of here, it’s you.”
“Phoebe….”
“Don’t argue with me Prue! If you think I’m going to leave you and Piper again, you’re sadly mistaken!”
“You don’t have an active power!”
“And you can barely stand!”

“Hey!!” Piper glared back and forth between them. “Just how is this helping us?”
Paige nodded her agreement. “And why can’t I orb all three of you?”

Phoebe looked at her now oldest sister. “Do you think you can?”
Paige blushed. “I actually have no idea. But it sounded like a good idea at the time.”

“Uh, guys.” Piper swallowed hard. “I think we just ran out of time.”

They all looked toward Daeyl, who was climbing to his feet with the aid of a couple of his clan members.

“Nice try, witches.” Daeyl glared at them. “Too bad you didn’t make your escape when you had the chance.”

Prue put herself between her sisters and the demons. “Suggestions are welcome.”

“Leo said you should be able to handle anything they dish out with the power of three.” Paige eyed their attackers wearily.
“Duh.” Phoebe chastised herself. “That’s the first thing we should have told you.”
“Ya think?” Piper gave her a look. “So the power of three spell?”

Phoebe moved in close to Piper as she stared at Prue. “Do you really think she’s strong enough for that right now?”

“I heard that.” Prue threw one of the demons that got too close for her liking. “But I don’t see….” Her voice was strained as she tried to catch her breath. “That we have…. an option.”

“Let’s just get this over with, shall we?” Piper stepped up to Prue’s right side, offering what support she could to her quickly weakening sister.
“Here goes nothing.” Phoebe went to Prue’s left side, gently taking her sister’s hand in her own.

“Is there anything I can do?” Paige’s voice sounded from behind them.
“Praying might be good.”

“Oh look.” Daeyl put on a mock expression of fear. “Now they’re holding hands.”

“You think that’s cool?” Phoebe raised one eyebrow. “Just wait til you see what we do for an encore.”

With that the three of them started to chant. The first ‘power of three will set us free’ took out almost a quarter of the demons before them.

“What?!” Daeyl looked at the empty spaces in his ranks in amazement.

“The power of three will set us free. The power of three will set us free.”

More demons disappeared with every word they spoke. Some screamed. Some whirled around in circles until they disappeared. Some burst into flames. And some just stood there with a dumb look on their face as they were sucked into oblivion. It was down to Daeyl and a few of his more powerful buddies when Prue’s knees buckled.

“Prue!” Piper wrapped her arm around her sister’s waist.
“I’m…. all right.” Prue wheezed. “Let’s…. finish.”

“Here.” Paige put her arms around Prue, giving her the support she needed to stay on her feet.
“You sure you’ve got her.” Phoebe’s eyes shone with concern.
“Yeah.” Paige nodded. “Like she said, finish it.”

Piper and Phoebe started to chant again, Prue’s voice barely audible compared to theirs. But it did the trick. They were down to just Daeyl.

“You won’t get away with this witches! The Source will have you! And I’m going to be the demon to bring you to him!!”

Daeyl shimmered out, leaving just the sisters and some very nasty looking scorch marks where they had vanquished his fellow demons. Their relief was short lived as Prue’s eyes rolled back in her head.

“Uh, guys.” Paige struggled with her sister’s now dead weight. “I could use a little help here.”

Piper helped lower Prue to the ground. Phoebe stood over them, afraid to ask the question forming on her lips.

“Is she….”
“No.” Piper shook her head. “She’s still alive.”
“Barely.” Paige looked down at the blood staining the front of her shirt from holding Prue. “She’s losing a lot of blood.”
“Can you heal her?”
Paige frowned at Piper. “Say what?”
Piper sighed. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“We have to get her out of here.” Phoebe closed her eyes for a second. “Paige, why don’t you….”
“I’m not leaving without all three of you.” Paige put up her hand to silence her little sister. “I say we try the me orbing all three of you thing.”
Piper shook her head. “But….”
“But nothing. I’m not leaving the two of you here, even for a second. What if what’s his name comes back?” Paige motioned for Phoebe to join her and Piper. “Let’s give it a try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll carry her out of here.”

Phoebe knelt next to Piper, her hand involuntarily going to Prue’s cheek. She couldn’t believe how cold her sister’s skin was. Tears sprang to her eyes when she noticed the shallowness of her sister’s breathing.

“We need to hurry.”

Paige nodded in response to Phoebe’s comment. She put one hand on Prue’s shoulder and the other on Phoebe’s, waiting for Piper to grip her arm before trying to orb. At first nothing happened. She swallowed hard when she felt her sisters looking at her and closed her eyes, concentrating even harder. Her efforts finally paid off when she felt her powers kick in.

“Leo!” Piper threw her head back, yelling for their Whitelighter as soon as they appeared in the living room of the Manor. “Leo! We need you!!”

“Piper….” Phoebe’s voice was husky with tears as she looked down at Prue. “I…. I don’t think she’s breathing.”
“Of course she’s breathing!” Piper was borderline hysterical as she too looked at Prue, tears springing to her eyes. “LEO!!”

“Piper?” Leo appeared in a show of blue orbs. “Thank goodness you’re….” His eyes got big when he saw his charge. “Prue?!”

“Heal her.” Phoebe grabbed his hand as she squatted next to her, moving them toward Prue.

Paige stepped back, hardly believing the scene before her. Phoebe moved out of Leo’s way, finding solace in Piper’s arms. They clung to one another as Leo worked on Prue. It didn’t take him long to look up at them, his expression grim.

“I’m sorry.” Leo clinched his jaw. “I can’t heal the dead.”

“What?!” Piper looked at him in disbelief. “She’s not…. Prue can’t be….” She looked to Paige for some sort of guidance.

“I’m sorry.” Leo repeated himself. “There’s nothing I can do.”

Phoebe pushed away from Piper, falling to her knees next to Prue. “Maybe she hasn’t crossed over yet. Maybe we can stop her.”

“Phoebe….” Piper whispered her sister’s name.

“I can’t give up on her, Piper.” Phoebe sobbed. “I can’t.” She looked down at Prue again. “There’s so much I didn’t tell her. So much I wanted her to know.”

Paige went to stand with Piper and Leo, none of them knowing quite what they should do.

“Prue, I know you can hear me.” Phoebe ran her fingers through her sister’s soft black hair. “You have to come back to us. We need you.” Tears cascaded down her cheeks. “I need you.”

Piper started toward her but Leo put his hand on her arm. “Let her be.”

“I realized something while you were gone, Prue.” Phoebe was so concentrated on her sister that she didn’t notice anyone else. “I used to think you stuck your nose in my business just to piss me off. To push my buttons so we could have another of our infamous blowups. But talking to Paige helped me to see that everything you’ve ever done for me was done out of love. Pushing me to do better, pointing out my mistakes, even yelling at me. You did it all not just because you could, but because you care. Really care.”

Phoebe drew in a shaky breath. “I’ve always thought I wanted a big sister instead of another mom. But now I realize that I’m one of the luckiest girl’s in the world because I have both. A big sister who has always been there for me whether I realized it or not. One who loved me enough to step into our mother’s shoes, putting me before anything else and loving me with all her heart.”

Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks as she gripped Prue’s right hand in both of hers and laid down next to her sister. “I love you Prue. Come back. Please….” You could almost hear her heart breaking. “Please come back.”

“That’s enough.” Piper pulled away from Leo, her own tears blinding her as she went to her sisters. “Phoebe, we need….” Her voice died in her throat. “Leo, get over here.”

Leo frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Prue’s breathing.” Piper’s eyes were wide with disbelief.
“Well what are you waiting for?” Paige pointed in her downed sister’s direction. “Heal her!”

Leo hurried back to Prue. He realized Phoebe was too upset to even realize he was there so he kneeled on the opposite side as her, putting his hands over the wound in Prue’s shoulder again. It didn’t look like anything was happening, but he looked up at Piper and Paige, relief shining in his eyes.

“It’s working.”

Those two words were music to Piper’s ears. She returned her attention to Phoebe, leaving Leo to work his own brand of magic. But her little sister was as oblivious to everything around her as Prue was.

“Phoebe?” Piper gripped her shoulder.
“Go away!” Phoebe shrugged away from her hand.
“But….”
“Leave me alone!”

Paige squatted down beside Piper. “Phoebe….”
“I said go away and leave me ALONE!”
“Leo is….”
“Useless! All of magic is useless!” Phoebe sobbed. “She’s gone! Prue is gone!”

“No I’m not.”

Phoebe’s head snapped up when she heard the familiar voice. She was so shocked to see Prue looking at her that she did a double take as she sat up.

“How…. What….” No more words would form on Phoebe’s lips, so she did what came naturally. She threw her arms around her sister. She instantly drew back when she heard her sister hiss in pain.

Leo shot her a look. “I’m not quite done yet, Phoebe.”

“Sorry.” Phoebe looked down at Prue. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t.” Prue grinned.
Phoebe returned the grin, tears still glistening in her eyes as she put her hand on her sister’s cheek. “I love you.”
Prue put her hand over her sister’s. “I love you too, baby girl.”

Piper watched them for a second before joining in. “And I love both of you!”

“All done.” Leo smiled as she stood, joining Paige, who had moved away from the sisters as soon as Prue woke up. “Isn’t sisterhood great?”
Paige smiled. “I’m starting to think so.”

Piper and Phoebe helped Prue to the couch, fussing over her the whole way.

“Guys, I’m fine.” Prue smiled as they sat down. “Really.”
“Yeah, well we’re still going to hover.” Piper tucked her sister’s hair behind her ear. “For a long time.”
Phoebe nodded. “We thought you were gone, Prue.”

“I was.” Prue looked back and forth between her them. “One second I was in the tunnel people always talk about and the next I heard Phoebe’s voice.”
Phoebe looked shocked. “You heard me?”
“Every word.” Prue squeezed her little sister’s hand. “And I knew it wasn’t my time. Not yet anyway.” She looked up at Paige. “Especially not when we have a new sister to get to know.”

Phoebe grinned at Paige. “She’s the one that got us to the underworld.”
Piper raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
Phoebe nodded. “I was doing the mad at the world routine and she whipped out a spell that would have made Grams proud.”

Paige waved the compliment away. “It was nothing. Really.”

Prue pried herself away from her little sisters. “It was definitely something.” She went to stand in front of Paige. “I never officially welcomed you to the family.”
Paige timidly offered her her hand. “Hi, I’m Paige.”
Prue threw her arms around her, drawing her into a tight hug. “Sisters don’t shake hands.”

Phoebe shared a look with Piper, both of them glad to see Prue had finally come around.

“So what do you say we get to know each other better?” Prue kept her arm around Paige as she pulled out of the hug. “Say with a girl’s night out at the club?”
Paige nodded. “Sounds good to me, but I’ll have to go home first. I don’t have a thing to wear.”
“Hello!” Prue scoffed. “Three sisters here. I think we can scrounge something up.”
Paige smiled. “Thanks.”

“Coffee.” Prue steered Paige toward the kitchen. “I could use some good black java.”
“Oh yeah.” Paige giggled. “The stronger the better.”
“Oh!” Prue gave her a squeeze. “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”

“Great.” Piper rolled her eyes. “Another jet fuel drinker.”

“Hey!” Phoebe grabbed Piper’s hand. “Wait for us!”

Leo laughed as they too went into the kitchen, knowing the road for his charges would never be a smooth one, but at least they had each other.

“Hey Leo!” Prue yelled from the kitchen. “Get your heavenly tush in here!”

His smile stayed in place as he went to join the sisters.