-----

Her plan was perfect. She had figured out that one way to get one of the Charmed Ones on her side was to get the witch to use her powers for evil. Obviously, that wasn't going to be overly easy. It required cunning and delicacy. How to infiltrate the sisters had given her pause. Which sister was the one who would let her in?

Piper was too preoccupied with wondering if she and Leo could make their relationship work. She was also preoccupied with flirting with the next- door neighbor, though she was denying that to her sisters. Her mind wasn't in the right place; she wasn't thinking about the kinds of thing she'd need to be thinking about in order to even consider using her powers for evil.

Phoebe could have been the one; she was after all the youngest and the weakest. But she had recently begun researching her craft and working on her magic. Trying to convince her to use her powers contrary to their purpose would be too difficult and raise too much suspicion.

Prue, on the other hand, was in the perfect mindset for her plan. She had just lost one of her closest friends, and she felt responsible. In her mind, Andy had died because of her involvement with the supernatural. Even though she had told her sisters that she no longer blamed herself, she still carried a heavy guilt with her each and every day.

All she had to do get Prue to do was want to avenge her boyfriend's death. Posing as a distraught young widow selling off her husband's possessions was the perfect cover. It got her close to Prue almost every day and she was sure she could get the eldest Halliwell to trust her. An added bonus was that working with a woman around her age who had lost her husband so suddenly was bound to stir up Prue's emotions. She was also working on a potion that would weaken Prue's strong facade and bring out her vulnerable side. Distributing it would be easy; a little in her coffee one day, a little in her food the next. Giving it to her slowly would make her slide less noticeable to those around her. Once the potion worked, it wouldn't be that difficult to convince her to use her powers for revenge. And that was all that was needed; the full descent into evil from there would be a piece of cake.

She grinned triumphantly, proud of herself. Oh, yes, her plan was absolutely perfect.

-----

Prue Halliwell ran her finger over the table in the foyer and shook her head when she realized just how much dust was on the table. "This is disgusting," she muttered to herself, wiping her finger on her pajama pants. She sprayed the table with furniture polish and let it sit a moment. When was the last time anyone had dusted the house? she wondered, inhaling the deep lemon scent. As she wiped the polish into the table with a dishrag, she shook her head again. She had let the housework go for far too long.

So now she was making up for it. She had already cleaned the kitchen thoroughly: she had scrubbed the countertops, polished the stainless steel and chrome surfaces until they sparkled, and mopped the floor. Then she had dusted the dining room completely. She had actually pondered taking out the vacuum, but she decided it was much too early and she didn't want to wake her sisters. She had been working her way into the parlor when the dust on the foyer table caught her eye. This floor could use a mopping, too, she thought as she lifted her foot and checked the bottom of her white sock. Just as she had suspected, it was dirty. But as dirty as the floor was, it was going to have to wait. After the parlor, she planned to get the upstairs hallway and her bedroom. "Those wall sconces probably haven't seen a cleaning in years," she mumbled.

She finished the table and headed into the parlor, flicking the lightswitch on. As the dark room became as illuminated as the rest of the first floor, Prue squinted and wondered where to start. "No place like the beginning," she sighed, taking the pictures off the endtable at her left side.

She had been so engrossed in her cleaning that she hadn't heard Piper come down the stairs. So it came as a shock to her when Piper spoke up from behind her. "Prue? What are you doing?"

Prue whirled around to see her sister rubbing her eyes and shielding them against the light. "Cleaning," Prue answered. Wasn't it obvious what she was doing? "The house is a mess."

"Prue, it's four o'clock in the morning," Piper said gently. She stepped into the room and took the dishrag and can of furniture polish out of Prue's hands. "Why aren't you in bed?"

"I couldn't sleep," Prue shrugged. "I turned on my light and I noticed that my room was dusty, so I decided to get up and check out the rest of the house. It's filthy!"

Piper shot Prue a confused look. "So you decided to clean it at four in the morning?"

Prue nodded and shrugged, not understanding what the big deal was. "No time like the present, right?" She snatched her dusting equipment back from her sister.

Piper shook her head as if to clear it, then put her hands on Prue's shoulders. "Prue, you don't belong cleaning the house at four in the morning. You belong asleep at four in the morning."

"I told you already, I couldn't sleep."

"Why couldn't you sleep?" Piper asked. Prue shrugged, ducking out of her sister's grasp. "Were you thinking about anything or anyone?"

"No," Prue said, shaking her head. "I just couldn't sleep. It's not a big deal, really."

Piper bit her lip, debating whether or not to argue with Prue. After a moment of thought, she decided that getting Prue worked up would only make the situation worse. "Okay, hon. Will you come upstairs with me and just try to sleep? You can stay with me--"

Prue shook her head no again. "I can't. I have tried, and I can't. It's okay, though, because the cleaning's keeping me busy."

Piper looked at her sister with a concerned expression, but she decided that it would be easier to agree with Prue for the moment. "Okay. Night, Prue."

"Night, Piper," Prue said, smiling. She watched her sister leave the room, then turned back to her cleaning. When she was through with the parlor, it was going to be sparkling.

"Wait, she was cleaning the house at four in the morning?" Phoebe whispered, casting a furtive glance behind her at the kitchen doorway.

Piper merely nodded as she carried two cups of coffee to the table. She handed one to Phoebe and kept the other for herself as she sat down at the table with her sister. "She had done most of the downstairs. I don't think she got any sleep at all."

"Where is she now?"

"Getting ready for work, last I knew," Piper answered. She sighed and tugged her fingers through a small snarl in her hair. "It was just so strange, Phoebe. She was walking around here like it was the middle of the day. And she thought nothing of it, like it was normal! She actually seemed a little annoyed when I tried to take the cleaning stuff from her."

"Honey, maybe she just had a bad night," Phoebe said gently, trying to calm her sister's fears. "Let's see how she is tonight before we start to worry, okay?"

"Phoebe, you didn't see her," Piper continued insistently. "She wasn't cleaning because she couldn't sleep. She was cleaning to take her mind off something. I mean, this wasn't your Saturday afternoon clean-up. It was obsessive."

Phoebe sighed. Piper was, of course, right; she hadn't seen Prue the night before, and it was obvious that what she had seen had concerned Piper a great deal. Truthfully, Phoebe didn't like what Piper was telling her any more than Piper did, but she didn't want her sister going off the deep end just yet. After all, it could be absolutely nothing, but if there was something going on with Prue, knowing that her sisters were worried would only make her clam up even more than normal. "Piper, relax, okay? We'll figure it out."

Piper nodded, sighing, and sat back in the chair. She was about to say something to Phoebe, but Prue rushed into the kitchen before Piper could open her mouth. She was dressed for work, her hair pulled back out of her face. "Morning, guys," she said cheerfully, heading straight for the coffee machine.

As Phoebe watched Prue fill a coffee mug and take a large swig of the dark liquid, it was easy to see why Piper had been so concerned the night before. Though she was energetic, Phoebe could tell that she was exhausted. The make-up she had put on couldn't completely cover the dark circles under her eyes and the rate at which she was drinking her coffee was quite telling. "Prue, come sit down for a minute," Phoebe said, patting an empty space at the table.

"No, I can't," she answered, shaking her head. "I have to be at the office early this morning."

"Oh, come on, Prue," Piper said, giving her sister a smile. "Blow it off. Come to the club with me. I could use a little help with some clean-up projects and such."

Prue rolled her eyes as she refilled her mug. "I'm meeting a new client today, Piper. I can't exactly tell her that I'm canceling on her to hang out with my sister."

Phoebe met Piper's eyes and bit her lip. Prue did have a point, and arguing with her would only make her suspicious. She shook her head slightly to let Piper know that they shouldn't push it, then looked back up at Prue, smiling. "What's he selling? The client, I mean."

Prue took another sip of coffee, then set her mug down on the counter. "It's a woman. Her husband was killed a few weeks ago and she's selling off some jewelry he had inherited from his grandmother. She needs the money, I guess."

Phoebe looked at Piper again. A sale in which a widow was selling off old jewelry didn't sound like something Prue should be getting into. It had only been a few weeks since Andy had died, and Phoebe knew that Prue was taking it harder than she was letting on. She didn't want to coddle her sister, because she knew that would only make Prue mad, but she didn't want her getting into something that would bring up bad or painful memories, either. "Honey, do you really think that's such a good idea?"

"Yeah," Prue shrugged. "Why wouldn't it be?" Before either of her sisters could speak up, she downed the rest of her coffee and placed the mug in the sink to be cleaned. "I have to go, or I'm going to be late. I'll see you two later." She gave them both a quick wave and a smile before grabbing her purse and heading out the door.

Phoebe sighed and ran her hand over her face. "Okay, I see what you're saying, Piper. The question is, what do we do and how do we do it?"

"Right now, I suggest we just watch her carefully," Piper answered softly. "We give her her space, but we let her know we're here for her, too."

Phoebe nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She and Piper fell silent for a moment. "Do you really need help at the club or were you just saying that to get her to stay home?"

"No, I really need help," Piper said, grinning slyly. "If you come with me, I'll buy you lunch."

"Oh, how can I pass that up?" Phoebe giggled. "If we can vanquish warlocks and demons, a little dust and dirt don't stand a chance."

-----

Prue looked down at the piece of American history she was holding in her hand and smiled. It was a beautiful blue cameo brooch, its twenty-four karat gold setting engraved only with the year 1897 and the word "Forever". And that was only one piece in Jessica Smith's husband's collection. There were at least twenty pieces just as beautiful and valuable. Jessica had also brought in some coins dating back to the Civil War that she had inherited from her great-grandfather. The pieces themselves weren't as amazing as some of the stories behind them, but even still, if everything sold as Prue was expecting it to, Jessica would have a nice chunk of change when all was said and done.

"This is absolutely beautiful, Jessica," Prue said, looking up at the young brunette sitting across from her. "It all is. And it's all so well cared for."

Jessica smiled, nodding slightly. "David made sure it was cleaned regularly. He was planning on giving it to our future daughter." She dropped her eyes to her hands, choking up a little. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, please," Prue said, smiling gently. "It's quite all right." She felt a lump starting to form in her throat, so she coughed quietly and placed the back in the jewelry box. "I'll start the paperwork on these. Why don't we meet tomorrow afternoon so we can start getting things in motion, okay?"

"Sure," Jessica replied with a smile. She stood up and extended her hand to Prue. "It was very nice to meet you, Ms. Halliwell."

"It was very nice to meet you, too," Prue said, shaking the young woman's hand. She walked her to the door. "Is tomorrow afternoon at two all right with you?"

"Perfect. Thank you. For this and for listening."

"Not a problem," Prue smiled. "Have a good day." She watched Jessica disappear down the hall, then she closed her office door and leaned back against it, closing her eyes. Talking with Jessica about David had been hard for her. David was killed a few weeks ago in his own home by an intruder. He had told Jessica to stay upstairs while he went down to investigate and moments later, Jessica had heard a gunshot. In a few seconds flat, Jessica had lost the love her of life. It had only been a couple of months, and Jessica was understandably still grieving.

Prue could relate completely. Jessica's situation was practically parallel to her own, aside from the supernatural elements. That, and it had only been six weeks for Prue. It had been six weeks exactly, but she remembered the whole thing like it had happened merely hours before. She remembered what went through her head when she saw him lying on the parlor floor: I told you to stay away, I told you to let us handle it. But he had to be there . . . and that was when it hit her. It was her fault. He was there to protect her. If she wasn't there, he wouldn't have been, either. It was all her fault. His protecting her had been a lifelong thing with them. He had protected her from the mean kid in the sandbox who threw sand at her and he had protected her from the asshole in eleventh grade who hadn't taken no for an answer. And in one final act of protection, he had tried to save her from certain death. He had paid with his life. So, even though her sisters told her that it wasn't her fault, she knew better.

She felt hot tears stinging her eyes. No, do not cry, she commanded herself. He wouldn't want her crying over him. She wasn't going to allow herself to be weak, to cry, to let her emotions control her. Nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong, she silently chanted. Maybe if she repeated it enough, she'd start to believe it.

"So you think Prue's okay?" Piper asked, applying the brake as the traffic light up ahead turned yellow.

Phoebe let out a small sigh. "Piper, I think she's fine. I think she's still trying to deal with everything that happened with Andy and because of that, she's going to be a little frazzled. But I do think she's fine."

Piper nodded, slowing the car to a stop. She knew Phoebe thought she was overreacting about Prue, and maybe she was. But whether she was or not seemed a little beside the point; Prue had her really worried. What Phoebe didn't know and what Piper hadn't been able to bring herself to tell her all day was that the previous night wasn't the first time she'd recently caught Prue wide awake in the middle of the night. A couple of nights prior, she had gotten up at three to use the bathroom and found Prue sitting in the hallway reading and a few nights before that, Prue's television had woken her at five. Though Prue generally didn't require a lot of sleep, she wasn't an insomniac, either.

"Piper, stop worrying," Phoebe spoke up, startling Piper a little. "She's perfectly okay."

"It's not just last night, Phoebe," she sighed. "Something is going on with her. I just wish she'd talk to us." She shook her head and pushed the gas pedal once the light turned green.

"I know you do, honey," Phoebe said gently. "I do, too."

The sisters fell silent for the remainder of the trip home. The day had been productive; she and Phoebe had cleaned most of the club, top to bottom. The only things left to clean were a couple of back rooms, but she could easily do that by herself at a later date. As Piper pulled into the driveway, she smiled when she saw Prue's car. Good, her sister was home. Maybe she could convince Prue to open up a little. Or at the very least, maybe she could let Prue know that if she ever needed to talk, she'd be there for her.

Her smile faded, however, when she stepped out of the car and looked up at the Manor. There were no lights on inside at all, and the outside lamps were off as well. Hmm, maybe Prue's not home, she thought. Though, if Prue had gone out, she would have left at least the outside lights on. The lights warded off burglars, she'd always said. Curious, Piper slammed the car door and hurried to the front entrance. "Piper, be careful," she heard Phoebe his from behind her.

"Shh!" she hissed back, then she wondered why she and Phoebe were whispering. It wasn't like they had never entered a dark house before. They had, plenty of times. Oh, this is ridiculous, she thought to herself as she pushed the door open and flicked on the foyer light. "Prue? Are you home?"

She received no answer. Glancing over at the table in the foyer, she saw Prue's keys lying right where she had tossed them on her way into the house. "She has to be home," Piper muttered. She walked into the parlor and hit the light switch. "Prue?"

"Ugh, Piper, turn the light off," came the groggy reply.

Piper cringed, realizing that Prue had fallen asleep on the couch after she had arrived home from work. And Piper also realized that she had just woken her. "Sorry," she said, quickly turning off the light. She waved behind her to let Phoebe know everything was okay. "Want me to let you go back to sleep?"

"No," Prue said. She sounded embarrassed. She sat up, a blanket falling down from her shoulders, and ran her fingers through her hair. "The light was just too bright. When'd it get dark?"

"About an hour ago." She walked into the room, turned the table lamp on, and sat down next to Prue. "How long were you asleep?"

"Umm," Prue squinted at the grandfather clock and frowned. "It's almost eight? Then . . . three hours? I left the office early, came home, and I guess I crashed."

Piper gave her a sympathetic smile, then looked her over, hoping her concern didn't show on her face. It was completely obvious that something was weighing on Prue's mind, and Piper had a good idea as to what it was. Prue was obviously still grieving, and that was perfectly understandable. What Piper was so worried about was that Prue wouldn't talk to anyone. Prue was never the type to spill her guts and expect people to comfort her, and Piper partly understood why she didn't want to talk about her own feelings. But not opening up every once in a while was completely unhealthy, as evidenced by her cleaning the house at four in the morning. She wondered if she should try to get Prue to talk. "Prue, I-"

"Piper, please don't start," Prue said tiredly. It was as if she could read Piper's mind. "I know I worried you this morning, but really, I'm okay. I am, however, exhausted from not getting much sleep last night, so I think I'm going to just head to bed. Maybe watch TV until I fall asleep."

"Okay," Piper smiled. She watched as Prue stood and wearily shuffled out of the parlor, then sighed when Phoebe came into the room, confused. "She's going up to bed."

Phoebe nodded. "She was asleep on the couch?" she asked, taking in the rumpled blanket by Piper's side.

"Yeah." Piper sighed again. Maybe Phoebe was right and Prue was just having a really bad couple of days. She had admitted that she worried Piper, after all. But still, something just wasn't sitting right with her. I'll give her enough time to fall asleep, she thought, then I'll go check on her.

"Piper?" Phoebe asked quietly, starting Piper out of her musings. "What're you thinking about?"

Piper hesitated, then smiled at Phoebe comfortingly. "Just that maybe I was overreacting after all."

Phoebe smiled, then turned on the television. It was all Piper could do not to feel completely hypocritical for lying to Phoebe about her feelings about Prue lying to her.

-----

Prue blew her hair off her forehead and kicked the covers off her legs, groaning. She turned her head to look at the clock and rolled her eyes. Three in the morning. She'd been lying in bed for five hours, dropping off to sleep for only minutes at a time. She had slept for about an hour and a half when she had gone up to bed, but she had woken at ten from a nightmare. The details of the dream were merely remnants and whispers now, but she knew it had to have been quite bad due to how shaken she still was.

Sighing, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. She walked over to her window, sank down on the small divan underneath it, and pulled up the shade, the soft light from the street lamps filtering into the room. The street was completely empty and all the houses she could see were awash with darkness. She seemed to be the only one in the neighborhood awake, but that was something she was used to. Her sleep schedule hadn't been what one would call normal for a few weeks.

She spent her nights awake and alone, and she had been getting her sleep in catnaps here and there. She both loved and hated the quiet darkness at the same time. It was in the darkness that she thought about him, which only made her upset, but it was also in the darkness that she felt him. Sometimes, when she was lying half-asleep in bed, she could actually feel his presence in the room with her. She would sit up and call his name only to be disappointed when she received no answer. Whether it was simply her overactive imagination or an actual supernatural presence, she couldn't be sure. All she knew was that the initial hope and excitement she felt and the subsequent disappointment were all too real.

She felt like she had to cry, but she didn't want to. There was no point; crying wouldn't change anything. No matter how much or how little she cried, he'd still be dead. The only man she'd ever truly loved was dead, and it was all her fault. It wasn't at her hand, of course, but it may as well have been. All those years he had trusted her, all those times they stood up for each other, and in the end, none of it mattered. Trying to face the reality of what had happened in her parlor six weeks earlier was killing her. Her sisters were trying to sugarcoat it, telling her that they tried to prevent it and that she was not at fault, but she knew the truth. No amount of dancing around the issue would change anything, either.

He was dead because he had come over to protect her, plain and simple, end of story. There were no ifs, ands, or buts. She was trying not to feel guilty, but the truth was she felt solely responsible, day and night. When she was awake, she was thinking about him constantly and what little sleep she did get was plagued with strange, unsettling dreams. She would think about what had happened, running the day over and over in her mind, and she'd try to come up with something she could have done to change the course of events. What killed her more than anything was that even after all this time, she still wasn't sure of what she could have done differently.

She wanted to turn on her music really loud or scream, anything to break the oppressive silence, but at the same time, she relished the silence. She knew she should cry and there were times she even wanted to, but she didn't want to appear weak or upset. She didn't want to give in to her fantasies of him coming back and lose her grip on reality, but reality was just too hard for her, too much for her to handle.

Sighing, she glanced back at her bed. At three in the morning, the warm blankets and fluffy comforter should have been inviting, but they instead struck her as cold and empty. No wonder I can't sleep, she thought bitterly. Her bed wasn't the haven it should have been; instead, staring at the large queen-sized bed only reminded her of how alone she really was.

Suddenly, her bedroom door started creaking open. She jumped at the sound. Who could be entering her room at this hour? Her sisters were asleep . . . could it really be? "Andy?" she asked quietly.

"Prue?" The voice that answered her was just as soft but decidedly female. "Did you just call me Andy?"

Prue bit her lip and closed her eyes. It was Phoebe; she must have woken up and decided to check on her big sister. "Of course I didn't. Go back to bed, Pheebs."

"No." Phoebe walked into the room, the dim light from the street lamps partially lighting her way into the room, and sat down next to Prue on the divan. "I know you just called his name, Prue. Why would you think he'd be coming into your room?"

Prue gazed down at her hands. How was she going to explain that without sounding completely crazy? Even if Phoebe didn't think she was crazy, she'd at the very least be quite worried. She sighed, then looked up at Phoebe. Here goes nothing, she thought. "It's stupid, really, but I was just thinking that it could be possible, you know? Possible for him to come to me, I mean. We've dealt with ghosts before and . . . it's possible, isn't it?" She looked at her sister pleadingly, surprised at how much she wanted Phoebe to say yes.

Phoebe hesitated, obviously debating her answer. Eventually, she smiled and touched Prue's cheek gently. "Of course it's possible, sweetie. How long have you been awake?"

Prue shrugged, reluctant to admit how long she'd been up. "A while."

She smiled again and took Prue's hand, giving it a gentle shake. "Come on. I'll get you back in bed and I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, okay?"

"No," Prue replied, shaking her head for emphasis. "I can't sleep. Go back to bed, Phoebe. I promise, I'm fine."

"Prue, you can't stay up every night waiting for him to come to you."

Prue gasped and looked up at Phoebe sharply. Did she really believe that a visitation was possible, or was she just saying that because she thought that was what Prue needed to hear? She took a deep breath in, ready to tell Phoebe that that was not the reason she was staying up, but she changed her mind. Why not let her believe it? Perhaps if she pretended to give in and pretended to go back to sleep, Phoebe would leave or even fall asleep herself. Then, Prue would be left alone again, just herself and her thoughts. "You're right, Pheebs. I'll try and sleep, all right?"

Phoebe grinned. "Okay. I'm staying in here with you until you fall asleep."

Prue nodded an approval and climbed back into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin. Phoebe sat down at the head of the bed and tucked Prue in. "Good night, sweetie."

"Night, Pheebs," Prue said through a yawn. She was surprised at how suddenly tired she was. She closed her eyes, fully expecting to pretend to go to sleep so Phoebe would leave. But when she felt herself nodding off a few minutes later, she didn't bother to fight it.

-----

Jessica quietly shimmered into the shadows of Prue Halliwell's bedroom, smirking when she saw the witch huddled in bed with her youngest sister fast asleep next to her. A demon could have so easily taken out the Charmed Ones then, with all of them fast asleep and two even in the same room. But for most demons, the kill wasn't enough. Most demons wanted the witches to suffer, to pay for the damage they had done to the side of evil. Jessica, however, didn't want the witches to suffer and she most definitely did not want to kill them. She wanted to harness their power for her side, the power that had been used against evil all those times. After all, how much more poetic could it be than to destroy good with good's own most powerful weapon?

Prue stirred in her sleep, making a face. It was obvious that she was having a nightmare, though about what Jessica couldn't be sure. She had been amazed at how volatile Prue's emotions were when she had met with her that afternoon. So closed off, so strong on the outside, but so hurt and so vulnerable on the inside. The emotions were so close to the surface, itching to escape, but Prue refused to let them show. In the end, Prue's need to be the strong one would be the key to her destruction. Jessica's job was much easier than she had originally thought it was going to be.

Prue stirred again, which only caused Jessica to smirk even more. For all the smarts Prue had, she was so incredibly stupid when it came to common sense things. Her mental health, for example. She was having nightmares, not sleeping, thinking constantly, yet she refused to talk about what was on her mind. Oh, well, it was making Jessica's project much easier, so who was she to complain? Stupid witch, she thought, fixing her eyes on Prue. Taking in the eldest Halliwell was supposed to be hard. Instead, Prue was setting herself up to be taken in. It was almost too easy to be satisfying. Almost. With one final glance at Prue, Jessica shook her head, smirked, and shimmered out of the room.

"Piper, I told you already, I am fine," Prue said into the phone, sighing.

"I know you said that, Prue, but I'm having a hard time believing you."

Prue rolled her eyes and rested the phone on her shoulder as she began gathering some papers together. Her desk, normally neat and organized, was in chaos. "Piper, I really don't have time for this"

"Well, make time," Piper said insistently. Prue raised her eyebrows at her sister's tone of voice. "I want to know why you were gone when Phoebe and I woke up this morning."

"I had to get to work, Piper," Prue replied, exasperated. She stopped fussing with the papers, aggravated that she couldn't focus her attention solely on her organizing. She really didn't have the time to be talking about this kind of thing with Piper. She was at work, after all. "What, I'm supposed to wait until you and Phoebe to wake up before I leave now? I'm not twelve years old, Piper."

"I know you're not a child, Prue, but when I wake up at seven in the morning to find you dressed and gone to the office already, it concerns me," Piper said gently. "What time did you leave this morning?"

Prue groaned. This is beyond ridiculous! she thought. I don't have to explain myself to my little sister. "Look, my call waiting's going off. I'll call you back later, okay?" She quickly hung up the phone before Piper could respond, and placed her head in her hands. She felt guilty for lying to Piper and for hanging up on her, but she was just too tired to be given the third degree. Perhaps leaving for work so early wasn't as good an idea as it had originally seemed.

She had awoken at six from another nightmare, only this time, she remembered it. It was of the day Andy had died, but in the dream, her sisters were killed alongside him. The pain she had felt in the dream, the realization that she was completely alone in the world, the intense anger and despair was so real that it had woken her. She was so shaken that she couldn't stand to be in the house any longer. She had quickly gotten dressed, taking care not to wake Phoebe, who had apparently fallen asleep in her room the night before, and just left for the office. She had thought that leaving early would spare her the kind of conversation she'd just had. Maybe I should have left a note, she thought bitterly.

Sighing, she pushed the papers on her desk aside, set her arms down, and cradled her head in her arms. She was so tired, so exhausted. And she was bored. Because she had arrived so early, she had finished all she had to do, other than the general collating and filing. The only thing she was really waiting for was her meeting with Jessica, which was still over an hour away. She let her eyes flutter closed, thinking that sitting doing nothing for a few minutes could be relaxing.

When she lifted her head, she found, to her surprise, that it was ten to two. Realizing that she must have nodded off, she groaned and sat up straight, running her hand over her face. I have to stop doing that, she thought as she stood up and walked over to her window. That wasn't the first time in recent weeks she'd fallen asleep at her desk. Since she hadn't been sleeping much at night, she had to catch up some time and for some reason, it always seemed to be right after lunch that she got overwhelmingly tired. No one checked up on her during the day and she always had all of her work done, so she wasn't all that worried about getting caught. Even if she did get caught, the big bosses would probably just think she was still going through a rough patch. It wasn't all that far from the truth . . .

She had gone back to work the day after the funeral, and she hadn't stopped since. She needed to be doing something to keep busy; sitting at home doing nothing would have only made everything so much worse. If she allowed herself to, she'd think about him all the time. It seemed he was always on her mind in one way or another. Things she never thought twice about before made her stop dead in her tracks, like how much he had liked it when she wore her hair up in high school, or seeing a car like his drive by. If she walked by someone wearing his cologne, she would look around for him in the split second before she remembered he was gone.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't hear Jessica knock on the door. It wasn't until Jessica cleared her throat that Prue turned away from the window. "Oh!" she exclaimed upon seeing Jessica standing in the doorway. "I'm so sorry."

"Oh, no," Jessica said with a smile. "I'm the one who should be sorry." She help up a small plate of cookies. "They're homemade."

Prue furrowed her brow as she walked forward, meeting Jessica at the door. She accepted the cookies with a confused smile. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but what are these for?"

"To apologize for being so insensitive yesterday," she replied sheepishly. "I could see it in your eyes, but it didn't register with me until I got home. I wouldn't have talked so much about David if I had realized."

Prue drew in her breath. Jessica knew; she knew about Andy. Was she really that obvious, or was it simply something that Jessica recognized because she was going through it, too? "No, it's perfectly okay," she said, clearing her throat.

"Thanks for the cookies. That was really sweet."

Jessica smiled as Prue led her to her desk and set the cookies down on the file cabinet. "How long has it been?"

Prue swallowed the lump in her throat and sat down in her chair. "Six weeks," she answered, hoping Jessica would just let things drop. "It was sudden, too."

Jessica just nodded and thankfully allowed Prue to steer the conversation towards business matters.

How Prue got through the meeting without losing it completely was beyond her. She had no idea how she had remained so cool and collected on the outside when on the inside she just wanted to scream. She was getting tired again, and her emotions were always harder to control when she was tired. After talking with Jessica for an hour and setting up an appointment for two days later, Prue was left alone again.

She liked being alone, away from the hassle of the family. She didn't even have the hassle of work, really. Mr. Caldwell, while totally focused on the money coming into the auction house, wasn't so insensitive to ride her and force her to work at an accelerated pace. He was happy with what she was bringing in, especially considering her personal issues at the moment, so he generally left her alone.

Prue sighed, then took the plastic wrap off the plate of cookies and began nibbling on one as she organized her papers. They were good, almost as good as Piper's. There was a faint taste of something that she couldn't place. I'll have to ask Jessica what her secret ingredient is next time I see her, she thought. She was about to actually get up to run a couple of files upstairs, but as she was standing, her eye caught the small framed picture of her and Andy lying in the open desk drawer at her side.

She had put it away because looking at it hurt too much, but now she wanted to look at it, needed to, even. She didn't want to forget anything about him. She gently ran her finger down the front of the photo and sighed, her eyes filling with tears. Oh, Andy, I miss you, she thought. She held her breath and waited for a second. She wasn't really expecting any kind of answer, but she was still disappointed when she didn't receive one.

As she started to eat another cookie, she felt herself getting angry. After all she had already lost, how dare evil take someone else away from her? Hadn't evil already taken enough? Well, they messed with the wrong Halliwell this time, she thought bitterly. She didn't know just how she was going to get even, but she was. And she would make evil very sorry they had ever heard the name Prue Halliwell.

-----

Piper sighed as she climbed the attic stairs. The last thing she wanted to do at midnight was try to drag Prue downstairs and into bed. But she was too worried about her sister not to at least check on her before heading to bed herself.

When Prue had come home from work earlier that evening, she had been angry and agitated, but she managed to calm down enough to eat a little bit of her dinner. Piper had a feeling that Prue was only eating to keep her and Phoebe from nagging her and asking questions. She had helped Piper clean up and then had disappeared into the attic, slipping out only once to get something from the refrigerator. Whatever that something was, she had taken it into the attic with her. Now, five hours later, Piper was about to attempt to get Prue back into somewhat of a normal schedule. She hoped having a routine would help her sister pull out of her little slump.

She opened the door and peeked in to find Prue settled on the floor in one corner of the attic, the Book of Shadows in her lap and a bottle of wine that was almost empty at her side. She was poring over each page as carefully as she could before turning to the next one. Piper frowned and stepped into the room just as Prue picked up the wine. "Prue, are you okay?"

Prue started and looked up at the door, then rolled her eyes and turned back to the Book. "I'm fine, Piper."

"Really, because you don't look fine." Piper watched as Prue put the wine bottle to her lips and took a quick swig. That was when she realized that Prue was more than on her way to being hammered. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She rushed forward, taking the bottle out of Prue's hand.

"Making it all go away," she muttered, flipping the page she was reading and starting on the next one. After a second, it was almost as if she had just realized that Piper had taken the wine from her. She snatched the bottle back and glared at her sister. "And that's mine. Andy gave it to me, not you."

"But you were saving that wine!" Piper feebly protested. She remembered when Andy had given her that bottle. It was a make-up present after they had had a fight a few months ago. Well, that and some roses, but the roses were long since wilted.

"Yeah, well, Andy's gone. The wine should be, too." Prue took one more long drink, emptying the bottle. She set it down beside her and turned the page in the Book.

Piper sat down on the floor in front of her sister and slid the Book into her own lap. She didn't know what Prue thought she was doing, but she didn't like it one bit. "Prue, what is wrong with you? You know better than this"

"Blah blah blah," Prue interrupted angrily. "Why is it again that I'm not allowed to be irresponsible? Why do I have to

be the level-headed, never-does-anything-that's-bad-for-her one all the time?"

"Prue, listen to me," Piper said, gently taking her sister's hands. "I'm really worried about you. I'm not angry right now, I'm scared. Something is going on with you and I don't know how to help." She started choking up, so she looked down and cleared her throat. However, when she looked back up at Prue, she couldn't keep her tears from spilling over. "I love you, Prue, and I hate seeing you like this, but I don't know how to help you."

Prue started tearing up as well, but whether that was from what Piper was saying or the alcohol, Piper couldn't be sure. "I just wonder sometimes . . . is this all worth it? Why fight evil if evil is always going to win? It's freaking pointless."

"Honey, you don't really think that," Piper said softly, making a move to give Prue a hug.

"Yes, I do," she answered, pushing Piper away. "It has so far. It's won enough to take Mom and Andy away from us. We may win little battles here and there, but they always win bigger ones. And they'll win the war." She clumsily stood up and backed herself into the corner. "It's not worth it anymore, Piper. How much more do we have to lost before you see that?"

It had been so long since Prue had been drunk that Piper had forgotten how belligerent Prue became when she was.

"Okay, you're right," she said gently, hoping that her tone would calm Prue down a little. "Sometimes I wonder if it's all worth it, too. But all I have to do is look at one innocent that we've saved, and I realize that it is."

Prue shook her head angrily. "No, it's not. It doesn't balance out anymore, Piper. Evil keeps taking and taking and taking from us and we can't do anything about it. Well, not anymore. I'll make them sorry."

Piper cringed. She knew that it was only the alcohol talking, but the anger and venom in Prue's voice was scaring her. She reached out and grabbed Prue's hands, hoping to get her to start heading back downstairs. "Come on, hon. Let's go to bed, okay? Maybe you'll feel better in the morning."

"No!" Prue shouted, pulling away from Piper. "I have to find a way to make them pay. Piper, don't you understand? I can't let them take anyone else from me. I have to get them first."

Piper looked her sister over with concerned eyes. She looked so haggard, so tired, but there was a wild gleam in her bloodshot eyes that was frightening Piper. Just as she was trying to figure out something else to say to her, Phoebe came up the attic stairs. "What're you two doing up here?" she asked curiously. "Having a family meeting and you didn't invite me?"

"No," Prue grumbled. "It's nothing. Go back downstairs."

Phoebe wrinkled her brow as she entered the room and walked closer to her sisters. "Prue, are you drunk?"

"So what if I am? Are you going to yell at me, too?"

"Prue, what possessed you--" Phoebe started. Piper elbowed her in the ribs to shut her up. The last thing she needed was for Prue to get even more agitated. "Piper, she--"

"Shush," Piper hissed. "Just help me get her downstairs."

"You know, I am standing right here," Prue muttered. "Just because I'm slightly intoxicated doesn't mean I can't hear

you."

"You're right, hon. I'm sorry," Piper aid gently, taking Prue's hands again. "Just come downstairs with us. It's getting late. You can do all this tomorrow." Whatever it is that you're actually doing, she added silently.

Prue hesitated, looking from the Book to the door and back to Piper and Phoebe. After a moment, she nodded and stepped away from the wall. "Okay. I am getting a little sleepy, now that I think of it."

"Yeah, I don't doubt it," Phoebe mumbled under her breath. "Wine'll do that to you."

Piper caught Phoebe's eye and shot her a glare, hoping to get her to keep quiet. There was no use starting a whole big argument. It wouldn't solve anything; all it would do was make everyone mad. She wrapped her arm around Prue's shoulders and began leading her out of the attic. Navigating the stairs proved a little difficult; Prue kept stumbling over her feet. It took a few minutes, but she and Phoebe managed to get Prue downstairs and into bed. "There you go, sweetheart," Piper said softly, spreading the blankets over Prue as she laid down and curled up in a ball. "Night, hon."

"G'night," Prue mumbled, slipping almost immediately into a deep sleep.

Phoebe looked up at Piper and sighed, obviously frustrated. "What the hell was she thinking, Piper? This is so totally unlike her--"

"I know," Piper sighed. "I don't know what to do. I want to help, but . . ." She looked down at Prue, who was already snoring softly, and shook her head. "Come on, let's just go to bed. We can figure things out in the morning."

"Okay," Phoebe nodded. She slung her arm over Piper's shoulders and led her out of the room. Piper looked back at Prue only once as she flicked the overhead light off, leaving Prue's room pitch-black. She closed the door on her way out. Maybe this will mean Prue will actually get some sleep tonight, she thought. It wasn't a big silver lining, but it was the only one she had and it was better than nothing.

"You really think we did the right thing?" Phoebe asked as Piper flopped down on the couch and began lazily flipping channels on the television.

"Phoebe, we didn't have much of a choice," Piper sighed. Phoebe knew that her sister was sick of answering that particular question, but she had to ask it again. "She slept through her alarm, and we couldn't wake her up. We had no choice but to call her in sick."

"She's going to kill us," Phoebe said a little nervously, glancing up at the clock. The morning, though tensely quiet, had flown by, and it was already quarter of eleven. Despite the hour, Prue still hadn't awoken. It was so unlike Prue to sleep straight through her alarm or not to be up by eight. Then again, it was so unlike Prue to down a whole bottle of wine to drown her sorrows. "Both for calling her in and for letting her sleep this late."

"Trust me, she's going to be so sick when she finally does wake up that she'll be thanking us, not killing us."

Phoebe tore her eyes away from the TV and looked over at her sister, trying to determine if Piper was as angry as she sounded. After a moment, she realized that even though Piper sounded like she was furious with Prue, she was more scared and concerned for her than anything. And truthfully, Phoebe was finally starting to share that concern.

It was bad enough that Prue had been spending her nights sitting by her window and waiting for Andy to come to her. But when she had gone upstairs to find Piper arguing with a very drunk Prue, Phoebe had immediately become concerned and worried. Prue had never been one to drink to get drunk. She hadn't been drunk in so long that Phoebe had forgotten when the last time actually was. After they had talked Prue downstairs, Piper had told her what Prue had said about the wine being gone because Andy was. Almost at once, any anger Phoebe was feeling at Prue melted away and she felt nothing but sympathy for her sister. She wondered if Prue would even remember anything that had happened the previous night. In a way, she hoped she didn't, because then she wouldn't know that Phoebe had been mad at her.

She had been mad, very mad, because it seemed that Prue was choosing to run from her problems instead of facing them head on. Again. It was only a couple of weeks prior that she and Piper and confronted Prue after she froze up while facing Abraxas. She had told Prue then that she couldn't keep running, and the events of the previous night just seemed to be one more way that Prue was running, hiding. And while she was still a little miffed at her sister for taking the irresponsible way out, she was worried for her. She and Piper had to do something to help her, but just what that something was, Phoebe had no idea.

She was shaken from her reverie when Piper sighed, flicked off the TV, and tossed the remote down on the cushion between them. "I can't just sit here anymore; I have to check on her. Want to help me try to get her up?"

"Sure," Phoebe answered with a shrug, standing and following Piper out of the room. They climbed the stairs, not bothering to avoid the creaky floorboards, and walked down the hall to Prue's room. Phoebe slowly pushed the door open, hoping that Prue was awake already. She and Piper shared a sigh when they saw that Prue was still fast asleep, curled up on her side and snoring softly.

Piper groaned quietly, entered the room, and began pulling up the shades on the windows, letting the bright late morning sunlight flood the room. Then she sat down on Prue's bed and tapped her sister's shoulder. "Prue, it's time to wake up."

Prue made a face and swiped at Piper's hand. "Ohh, I feel like crap," she moaned, pulling the sheet over her head in an effort to block out the sunlight.

"That's what happens when you drink a bottle of wine by yourself. You get a hangover," Phoebe said sternly as she entered the room. She gently smacked Prue's legs a couple of times. "Come on, it's time to get up and at 'em."

"I am not hungover," she mumbled. "Why are you two double-teaming me?"

"Because it's almost eleven and you were still snoring," Piper said, teasingly mocking Prue's whining tone. She started poking her finger into her sister's arm, hoping that it would annoy Prue enough to get her out of bed.

All of a sudden, Prue gasped and sat up, then immediately regretted it. She rested her head in her hands, groaning in pain. "Are you okay?" Phoebe asked, cringing in sympathy for her sister. "What made you sit up like that?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Prue answered quietly. "I just have one killer headache. Is it really almost eleven? I am so incredibly late for work"

"Shh, relax," Piper said, brushing Prue's hair behind her ears. "We called you in sick when we couldn't wake you this

morning. Want me to get you some aspirin or something?"

Prue nodded, leaving her hand to her head. Piper smiled gently, then stood up and disappeared down the hall, leaving Phoebe and Prue alone. "Did I really drink a bottle of wine all by myself last night?" Prue asked as she laid back down.

"Yeah," Phoebe answered, smiling. "You should feel lucky you don't have alcohol poisoning."

"Maybe I am hungover, then," she said, laughing weakly as she closed her eyes.

"Yeah, maybe," Phoebe teased, nudging Prue's leg. She was silent a moment, then she took a deep breath. She wondered if she should say anything about the previous night, ask if Prue remembered anything or if she knew why she did what she did. Oh, the hell with it, she thought. "Prue, can I ask you something?"

"As long as I don't have to think in order to answer it." She opened her eyes and looked at her sister intently. "You want to know why I drank the wine last night," she said quietly after a moment.

"Well, yeah," Phoebe answered a little nervously. "Do you even remember?"

Just as Prue was about to answer, Piper returned with a glass of water in one hand and two white tablets in the other. Prue slowly sat up, placing her hand on her forehead, and accepted the pills as Piper dropped them into her hand. She popped them into her mouth and then took the glass of water to wash them down. After she had swallowed, she placed the glass on her nightstand, propped the pillows up against the headboard, and leaned back, resting her head back on the pillows. "Thank you, Piper."

"You're welcome, hon," Piper replied, sitting back down on the bed. She hesitated a moment, then spoke up softly.

"Prue, look, Phoebe and I--"

"I know," Prue interrupted. "I know I worried you . . . am worrying you. I'm so sorry for that . . . and for last night. I honestly don't know what I was thinking."

"We just want to help," Phoebe said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I know that, too," Prue smiled, "and I appreciate that very much. I'm not quite sure what my problem is, though, so I don't know what can be done to help, you know?"

Piper gripped Prue's hands and looked into her eyes pleadingly. "Just talk to us, Prue. Maybe we can figure out what's going on together."

Almost at once, the look in Prue's eye changed. Phoebe knew exactly what had happened in that moment: Prue was closing herself off to them again. "No, I'll be okay." She shook her hands out of Piper's. "I think this is something I have to work through on my own."

"But Prue--" Phoebe started.

"Phoebe, I promise, I'll be fine--" The phone ringing interrupted her. She flinched in pain as the shrill sound tore through her aching head, but after a second, she reached over and picked up the receiver. "Hello? Wait, Jessica, I can't understand . . . okay, okay, come on over. You know my address . . . right. I'll see you in a few . . . okay, bye." She hung up the phone and started to climb out of bed.

"Prue, where are you going?" Piper asked.

"That was Jessica, my new client," Prue explained as she stood up. "She's upset, so I told her to come over here."

"Upset about what?" Phoebe asked. "The way the sale's going?"

"No . . ." Prue trailed off as she quickly ran a brush through her hair. "I have to get dressed before she gets here. Have to brush my teeth first . . ."

She left the room, heading down the hall to the bathroom. Phoebe met Piper's eye and sighed. "Piper, we have to do something."

"I know, and believe it or not, I think I actually have a plan." She stood and tugged Phoebe up. "Come on, we'll meet her downstairs."

Phoebe sighed again and followed Piper out of the room. It wasn't until she was halfway down the stairs that she realized Prue hadn't told her why she had drunk the wine.

-----

Prue held her hand to her forehead as she waited for Jessica to arrive at the Manor. The poor woman had sounded so upset on the phone, almost hysterical. Apparently, she had been going through some of David's things, looking for something else to put up on the auction block, and everything had just hit her at once. She hadn't known who else to call, so she had called Prue.

Prue just hoped she could be of some help. With the way she was feeling, she would be lucky to make it through the impromptu meeting without getting sick. Her head was pounding an she felt nauseous. She was also having moments of dizziness which left her a little shaky on her feet. "That's what I get for drinking," she grumbled to herself.

She honestly didn't know what she had been thinking when she started drinking that wine. She didn't even remember much; all she remembered was that after she had drunk about a quarter of the bottle, her thoughts started becoming muddled and she liked that. So she had kept drinking. She was paying for it now, though. She couldn't remember ever having such a bad hangover in her entire life.

She was just about to go get some more aspirin when the doorbell rang. Taking a deep breath, she answered the door, immediately giving Jessica a comforting smile. "Hi. Come on in."

"Thank you," the young woman said, stepping over the threshold and into the foyer. "I-I called the office and they said you had called in sick, and I'm really sorry to be bothering you at home, especially if you're not feeling well, but I didn't know who else to call"

"It's perfectly all right," Prue said, gently cutting her off. She led Jessica into the parlor, carefully taking in her tired, red eyes and her tear-stained cheeks. She was so hurt and in so much pain. Prue knew exactly how it felt to miss someone so much that she could hardly stand it, and she wanted desperately to help Jessica. She just wasn't quite sure how.

"What happened?"

"I-I was just . . . going through his things, and . . ." She stopped, shaking her head and swallowing hard. "I can't."

"Shh, it's all right," Prue whispered, laying a hand on Jessica's shoulder. "You don't have to talk about it . . . about him."

"No, I think this is something I have to do." She looked up at Prue pleadingly. "It's not going to be too hard on you, is it?"

Prue swallowed her own tears and smiled at Jessica. "No, of course not. Do what you have to do. How did you and David meet?"

"Grew up down the street from each other, if you can believe it," Jessica said with a small giggle. "Got 'married' in my backyard when we were seven, went to the prom together. All that stuff you think only happens in movies and books."

Prue nodded, tears welling in her eyes. It was amazing how similar she and Jessica were, even down to how they had met their loves. "Andy and I grew up next door to each other," she offered, hoping to show Jessica that she understood. "We did all that childhood sweetheart stuff, too."

"Really?" Jessica asked, smiling slightly.

"Yeah," Prue replied. "It was almost taken for granted that we were going to wind up married some day."

"And did you?"

Prue dropped her gaze to her hands. "No. There were . . . lots of obstacles and . . ."

"Say no more," Jessica said, placing her hand over Prue's. "You don't have to finish."

Prue swallowed hard, then blinked away the remaining tears in her eyes. She and Jessica sat in silence for a full minute before Prue spoke up again. "Did they ever catch the guy who broke into your house?"

It was Jessica's turn to get quiet. "No. And I think that's part of what's so hard, you know? He got away with it. Some days, I just want to go buy a gun and shoot him myself, just to . . . I don't know, get even, I guess." She looked Prue in the eye. "Do you ever feel like that? Like taking revenge on who killed Andy?"

Prue felt a lump forming in her throat. It was almost as if Jessica was reading her mind. Vengeance had been on her mind a lot lately; that was why she had been searching the Book of Shadows the night before. She had been looking for a way to get her revenge, to make evil pay, but she had come up empty-handed. Or at least she thought she had. She had to admit that most of the previous night was either fuzzy or completely gone from her memory. "Yeah, I do," she quietly admitted.

"It would be great if we could," Jessica said. "It would provide a little bit of closure, if nothing else. I just . . . I don't understand how one person can take so much from another without a second thought. It's like . . . pure evil."

Prue looked up sharply. Jessica peered at her, giving her a confused stare. "You're right, it is evil," Prue replied by way of an explanation. How was she going to explain her way out of that one? It wasn't as if she could actually tell Jessica that Andy had been killed by true evil, not a human with an evil streak. Sighing, she shook her head and smiled. "Never mind. Hey, you calmed down."

"Would you look at that?" Jessica giggled. "I did calm down. Thank you, Prue."

"Don't mention it," Prue said. "You, um, want to stay for lunch or something?" She was surprised at how much she didn't want Jessica to leave.

"Oh, no, thank you. I've taken up enough of your time." Jessica stood, prompting Prue to stand as well. "Thanks for letting me come over. I honestly don't know what I would have done."

"Any time," Prue smiled. She walked Jessica to the door and told her goodbye. She watched as Jessica hurried to her car and quickly got in and drove down the street. As soon as Jessica had disappeared from Prue's view, she closed the door and sighed, trying not to cry. She was angrier than ever for some reason she couldn't quite put her finger on. The only thing she felt would make her happy was killing a demon. She wanted nothing more than to vanquish some poor unsuspecting demon. If they can take from her all the time, why couldn't she take from them?

Then she grinned. She had an idea. If she had a general summoning spell, she could just change to wording to call whatever demon she wanted. She could just summon the demon into the attic and then vanquish him without the demon knowing what hit him. With a sly half-smile, she stepped away from the door and headed upstairs. She planned on scouring the Book of Shadows for a summoning spell. And if she couldn't find one, she'd write one. She'd make evil pay if it was the last thing she did.

Piper started up the attic stairs, wondering what Prue was doing up there now. She had gone up without a word right after that woman, Jessica, Piper believed, had left the Manor. She hadn't come down in over an hour. It wasn't as if Piper expected Prue to tell her what she was doing at every moment of the day, but her sister had been spending an awful lot of time in the attic. Spending lots of time in the Halliwell attic could only mean one thing, and Piper was not about to let Prue face any demons or warlocks on her own. There was simply no need of it.

She pushed the door at the top of the stairs open and was not surprised to find Prue nestled in an old chair with the Book of Shadows in her lap, slowly paging through it. "Prue, what are you doing?"

When she didn't receive an answer, she stepped into the attic and slowly approached Prue's chair. "Prue? What are you doing?"

"Crossword puzzles," Prue grumbled. She tore her eyes from the Book to give her sister a glare. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing, Piper?"

"Okay, whoa," Piper said, flinching at Prue's tone. "What is your problem?"

"You and Phoebe treating me like I'm a child." Her eyes were glittering with anger, an anger that Piper couldn't figure out. "God, you two are worse than Grams was! 'Where are you going? What are you doing? What time are you coming home?' I don't have to answer to you."

Piper's jaw dropped in surprise. Where on earth was this coming from? "Prue, we're just worried--"

"You know what? Just forget it." Prue turned back to the Book. "Forget it and just leave me alone."

The surprise Piper was feeling instantly turned into anger. She had no idea what was going on with Prue, but she had had enough of her theatrics. "No, I will not. Now you listen to me. Did you ever consider the fact that we're treating you like a child because you're acting like a spoiled, rebellious teenager? Excuse us for caring about you, Prue. I know what you want is to just retreat entirely into yourself, but I love you too much to let that happen." She saw Prue open her mouth to argue, but she quickly cut her off. "I'm not finished. You are obviously going through something that I don't understand. And that's fine; things like that are bound to happen. But I will not leave you alone to go through this by yourself. Stop pushing us away. And don't you ever try to make me feel guilty for loving you again."

"I am not acting like a spoiled brat," Prue retorted, tears prickling in her eyes.

"Like hell you're not! Your whole attitude is just like when you were sixteen. The secrecy, the avoidance, the belief that you can do everything on your own. You couldn't do it then, Prue, and you can't do it now. Besides, what responsible adult drinks a bottle of wine just so she won't have to think? You could have died, you know."

"Oh, stop being so overdramatic," Prue said, rolling her eyes. "Worst that could have happened was I could have wound up in the hospital."

"And the fact that you don't seem to give a damn scares me, Prue." She stepped forward and rested her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Something is happening to you, and it's scaring the hell out of me and Phoebe. You may not have wanted our help before, but we're way beyond what you want. You need our help, Prue, whether you want to admit it or not."

Prue took a deep breath, presumably to calm herself, then looked directly into Piper's eyes. "Your power may not work on me, but mine can work on you. Don't make me use it."

Her voice was so even and calm that Piper's blood ran cold. She narrowed her eyes at Prue, trying not to let on just how scared she was, and shook her by the shoulders. "What the hell is wrong with you! We don't just go around threatening to use our powers on each other! Prue, you can't go on like this. I know you're hurt and I know you're angry--"

"You don't know the half of it."

"Because you won't tell me!" Piper cried. "How can I possibly know what's going on if you don't tell me?" The tears welled in her eyes without warning. They came so fast that she couldn't keep them from spilling over. It hurt her so much to see Prue in so much pain, more pain than she had even realized. She sank to the floor, burying her face in her hands and sobbing quietly.

A few moments later, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and hold her tightly. She hugged Prue back, crying into her sister's shoulder. "Piper, I am so sorry," Prue whispered. "I-I don't know what got into me . . ."

"It's okay," Piper whispered back. She could tell that Prue was trying not to cry and she could also hear a slight hint of fear in her sister's voice. "I just hate seeing you like this."

"Believe me, it's no picnic feeling like this." Prue let Piper go and smiled slightly. "But really, you don't have to worry. I have some things to work through, obviously, but I'll be okay."

"Prue, when you threaten to use your power on me, something is very wrong," Piper sniffled. "That scared me . . ."

"I know and I'm so incredibly sorry. But I just can't . . . not yet."

Piper quietly sighed. Even after all that, Prue still wasn't going to open up to her. And she needed to. It was obvious. I need to go talk to Phoebe, she thought. She'll know what to do. "Okay. I'll let you get back to the Book. I'm here if you need to talk, okay?"

Prue just nodded and settled back in the chair. Piper sighed again and watched as Prue picked right up where she left off, as if nothing had happened. She shook her head; something was definitely seriously wrong with Prue. And hopefully, after she talked to Phoebe, they'd have some idea as to just what was wrong and how to fix it.

-----

Jessica stood in the shadows of the Halliwell attic, grumbling to herself. This was all wrong; Prue was falling much too fast. As she watched Prue diligently flip through the Book of Shadows, she tried to figure out what went wrong.

Perhaps she had put too much of the potion in the cookie mix. Perhaps she had simply underestimated the extent of Prue's pain. But whatever had gone wrong didn't matter now, she supposed. All that mattered was finding a way to salvage her plan before Piper put two and two together and brought Prue back from the edge.

She started when Prue sighed in frustration and started through the Book again. She didn't know what Prue was looking for, but it was obvious that she was completely determined to find it. Then, Jessica had an epiphany. She could accelerate the plan. A lot. After all, Piper and Phoebe couldn't save Prue if she had already turned. And Prue was almost there. She had already threatened to use her power against her own sister. If Jessica got her angry enough, it wouldn't take much for her to use her power against evil for revenge. All she needed was a catalyst, something that Prue wouldn't just be able to forgive and forget. And it would have to be tonight, after Piper and Phoebe were asleep. Then, she grinned. She had the most perfect idea. She shimmered out of the attic, secure in the knowledge that in a few hours, she'll have turned a Charmed One.

Prue awoke with a start and quickly sat up in bed. There was someone in her room, she could feel it. Who would be in her room at quarter of four in the morning? Maybe it was one of her sisters checking on her. Her fight with Piper, rather than getting them to leave her alone, had only made both Piper and Phoebe more worried and therefore more watchful. She wished she could get them to see that she didn't need their help; she was perfectly fine. Sure, she had been moody, tired, and upset, but after everything that had happened, she figured she had a right to be. And that was exactly what she planned on telling whichever sister was in her room. "Piper? Phoebe?"

No one answered her. Grumbling to herself, she turned on her bedside lamp, intending to catch her sister and give her a piece of her mind. The light brightened most of the room, leaving only a few dark corners. There was no one in the parts of the room that she could see. She scrambled out of bed and switched on the overhead light, getting rid of the shadows and thereby any hiding spaces entirely. Her room was empty, save for herself. "I don't get it," she muttered, frowning as she turned off her light. She climbed back into bed, switched off the lamp, and tried to settle back down to sleep, but after all that, she was wide awake.

She had been sure there was someone there. The presence was so strong and she definitely felt like she was being watched. Then it hit her: maybe she was being watched. Maybe he had finally come back to her but was afraid to show himself, afraid he'd scare her. She sat up excitedly. "Andy? Is that you?" When she didn't receive an answer, she just got more persistent. "Andy, it's okay. I won't be scared. I just want to see you again."

Still, there was no response. She sighed, trying to fight off the tears of disappointment that were brimming in her eyes. Why wasn't he coming to see her? She knew he could; she had, after all, just seen her grandmother only a couple of weeks before. "Goddamn it, Andy!" she cried. "Why the hell won't you come to me?"

As soon as it was out of her mouth, she regretted it. If he thought she was mad at him, he definitely wouldn't come to see her. She quickly but silently apologized to him. All she wanted was to see him again just once. Just one little moment is all she wanted, and she couldn't even have that.

She started crying before she even realized what she was doing, and once she started, she couldn't stop. She laid back down and curled up on her side, letting the tears soak into her pillow. This was all so unfair, so wrong. He didn't deserve to die. If anyone deserved it, it was her. She had failed him when it had counted the most. "I'm so sorry," she whispered through choked sobs. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

After about ten solid minutes, she started calming down, her sobs dwindling to hiccups and coughing. The crying was supposed to be a release, but all it had done was exhaust her. She was just drifting off again when she heard her door creak open. "Prue?"

She groaned sleepily. "Phoebe, leave me alone."

"I heard you crying."

"Want me to give you a prize?"

Phoebe sighed and a moment later, Prue felt her sit down on the edge of the bed. "Prue, listen. You don't have to talk. Just listen. You're hurt, you're angry. Nothing about this is fair. I get that. What I don't get is why you'd rather sit here and be miserable than talk to us and let us help you. You're not the type to ask for help, I know, but there's nothing wrong with accepting it when it's offered."

Prue laid still. She didn't mean to be ignoring Phoebe, but she could feel it again, the strong presence. "Shh. Can you sense that?"

"Sense what?" Phoebe asked, confused. "You sense something?"

"No," Prue mumbled, sitting up again. "Some . . . one. There's someone here."

"Prue, we're alone in here. It's just you and me."

"No! Just be really, really still. Shh . . ." Prue held her breath, listening carefully. It was a subtle thing, a change in the air. She really couldn't explain it, but she knew that someone was there.

After a minute, Phoebe sighed and placed her hands on Prue's shoulders. "Prue, there's no one here but you and me." Prue shook her head slightly, still listening intently to what Phoebe obviously interpreted as absolutely nothing. She decided to humor her. "Who is it, then?"

"I don't know . . ." She trailed off, trying to pinpoint who the presence was. It was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, which was really throwing off her thought process. She had thought it was Andy, but the presence was too cold, too unfeeling to be him. The air in her room seemed to chill and turn angry. That's it! she thought. It was Andy, which was why the presence seemed so familiar, but he was angry. Angry with her. "Oh, God," she mumbled, her stomach tying in knots.

"What?" Phoebe asked. "Prue, what is it? Dammit, talk to me!"

Prue shook her head. That had to be it; he was mad at her, he blamed her, and that's why he was so cold. An angry ghost would fall under the category of evil, wouldn't it? she thought. Evil had turned the love of her life evil. There was no way in hell she was going to let the other side get away with that. If evil could go around and do things without a conscience, then why couldn't she? "That's it," she grumbled, starting to climb out of bed. "I'm not taking this anymore."

"Taking what?" Phoebe asked, standing up as well. "Prue, what is wrong with you?'

"Phoebe, get out of my way," Prue said quietly. When Phoebe didn't move, Prue looked up and glared at her sister. "I mean it."

"No. Not until you tell me what is going on."

Prue narrowed her eyes at Phoebe in anger. She was not about to let her sister stand in her way. Before she even realized it, she felt the familiar burn of her power channeling through her eyes. Phoebe stumbled backwards and crashed into the small vanity against the wall. "Told you to get out of the way," Prue muttered, brushing past Phoebe on her way out the door.

Phoebe grunted but quickly regained her step. She was trying to sound angry when she called after Prue, but the shock was obvious in her voice. "Prudence Halliwell, you get back here!"

But Prue was beyond caring. All she cared about was getting her revenge.

-----

Phoebe banged on the attic door, trying to get Prue to come out, or at least open the door for her. It was hard to ignore the pain in her shoulders from when she crashed into the vanity, but she knew she had to for the sake of both her sisters. Prue had barricaded the door with some old furniture, and it wouldn't be long before the commotion in the attic woke Piper. She wasn't exactly sure how to tell Piper about what had happened in Prue's room, so she was hoping to get the situation somewhat under control before Piper came up to see what was going on. "Prue, please open the door. I'm not mad, just let me in."

The activity in the room stopped for a moment but then started back up again. She wished she knew what Prue was doing in there; it sounded like she was just throwing things around, but every once in a while it sounded as if she was fighting something or someone off, like she was struggling with something. Phoebe heard what sounded like a small scream of pain. Ignoring how much her shoulders hurt, she rammed the door again, trying to push whatever piece of furniture Prue had put up against it out of the way. "Prue! Prue, honey, let me in."

"What's going on?" asked a groggy voice from the bottom of the stairwell.

Phoebe bit her lip, closing her eyes for a moment. How was she going to explain this to Piper? She let out her breath slowly and turned to Piper, deciding to give her the least possible amount of information necessary. "Prue and I kind of got into a little fight when we were talking and she got upset and barricaded herself in the attic. I'm trying to talk her out, but I could really use some help."

Piper was up the stairs in a flash, helping Phoebe push against the door. After a few minutes, they managed to open the door just enough for each of them to squeeze through and into the attic. What they saw made Phoebe's jaw drop. The attic was a complete mess. A small circle had been outlined on the floor with a pale blue powder and Prue was standing just outside it with a potion vial in her hand. Her hair was wind-blown and in her face, but she didn't even seem to notice. "Prue?" Piper asked softly.

Prue whirled around, her blue eyes glittering like ice. Phoebe couldn't believe what she was seeing; Prue's features were contorted in anger and her eyes were full of rage. But there was something even more frightening that Phoebe couldn't quite put her finger on. "What do you two want?" she spat out, her voice a low monotone.

"What are you doing, hon?" Phoebe asked gently.

Prue narrowed her eyes at Phoebe, then she just turned back to the circle without another word to her sisters. She mumbled something under her breath and in an instant, a demon appeared in the middle of the circle. Phoebe cringed; between his green, scaly skin and razor sharp teeth, he looked like he could tear Prue limb from limb without even breaking a sweat. But Prue wasn't scared. In fact, she just smirked at him before tossing the vial into the circle.

The demon never stood a chance. As soon as the glass shattered, a heavy cloud of gray smoke surrounded the demon. He coughed and tried to fight it, but the smoke wrapped tighter and tighter, squeezing him the way a boa constrictor would suffocate its prey. After another agonizing few second, the smoke disappeared, taking the demon along with it. Phoebe glanced disbelievingly over at Prue, who was still staring at the spot where the demon once stood, a triumphant grin on her face. "Prue, what on earth do you think you're doing?"

"Phoebe, get out of here," Prue said, staring down at the circle. She bent down and picked up another small glass vial.

"Leave me alone."

"Dammit, Prue, that's enough!" Piper yelled. One look at Piper and Phoebe could tell that she was absolutely furious. "I am so sick of this! I'm sick of being woken up in the middle of the night. I'm sick of trying to help you only to have you completely ignore me. We are not leaving this attic until you tell us what the hell has gotten into you."

Prue nonchalantly met Piper's eyes. "You want a telekinetic backhand? I've already given one to Phoebe tonight, so don't think I won't give one to you, too."

"She used her power on you?" Piper asked Phoebe incredulously.

Phoebe nodded, biting her lip nervously. "Yeah, and she packs quite a punch, too, so I wouldn't test her."

Piper stomped forward and grabbed Prue by the shoulders. She whirled her around so that they were facing each other and held her at arm's length. "I don't know what your problem is, Prue, but this needs to stop. You need to talk about it, you need to let it out. When you use your powers on us, something is very seriously wrong. You have to let us help you because we can't live like this anymore. None of us can." She stopped, choking up. "Damn it, Prue, I love you and I can't stand to see you like this, but I don't know what else I can do."

Prue shrugged Piper's hands away. "You want to know what to do? Leave me alone. Let me handle this my own way."

"No, Prue," Phoebe said as she stepped up next to Piper. "We've done it your way long enough."

"Well, then, if that's how you want it . . ." She raised her hand, preparing to send both of her sisters flying.

Piper gasped and, out of pure instinct, threw up her hands to freeze the room. To the surprise of both Phoebe and Piper, Prue stopped and remained motionless. Phoebe's jaw dropped. No, this couldn't be happening. The only way Piper's power could freeze Prue would be if Prue had somehow turned evil. "Piper . . ."

"I-I know, Phoebe," Piper stammered, obviously shocked. As Phoebe was trying to think of what to do to save Prue, Piper gasped. "Phoebe, I have an idea. Go get a pair of handcuffs. She's going to talk to us whether she likes it or not."

-----

Prue's head was pounding. She groaned and lifted her head, opening her eyes slowly. She tried to bring her hands to her head to cradle it and was surprised to find that she couldn't. Grunting, she tried once again to move her arms, which were pinned behind her back, and had no luck. That was when she realized she was in handcuffs. And that she was tied to a chair.

Who had done this to her? She glanced around the attic slowly, her eyes finally refocusing, and she settled her gaze on Piper and Phoebe. Her sisters had done this, had tied her up like she was a criminal? How dare they? She narrowed her eyes at them. "What in the hell do you two think you're doing?"

"You are going to tell us what's going on," Piper said sternly, obviously not afraid of Prue. "And you're not getting untied until you do."

Prue struggled against her restraints, trying to slip her wrists out of the handcuffs. She groaned in frustration when she couldn't break free, then glared up at Piper. "Let me out of here."

"No."

Prue squinted at Piper, sending her flying backwards into the wall. "Untie me. Now."

Phoebe cringed as Piper picked herself up off the floor, groaning in pain. Then she turned to Prue. She was completely terrified, but she was obviously hoping she could talk Prue down. "What are you going to do, Prue? Keep throwing us until you hurt us, or even kill us? Is that what you really want? You feel guilty enough for a death that's not your fault. How would you feel about a death you actually are responsible for?"

Prue glared at Phoebe. "How dare you? You don't have any idea what you're talking about." And she didn't. Phoebe was too young to remember when their mother died, too little to know the pain and the guilt. She had no right talking about what Prue should or should not be feeling.

"Hit a nerve, did I?" Phoebe said, grinning. "What's really bothering you, Prue? The fact that Andy died or the fact that you feel responsible?"

"Stop it!" Prue squinted again, knocking Phoebe back a little. As much as she hated to admit that Phoebe had indeed hit a nerve, what Phoebe had said did get through to her. A little. She watched, grinning, as Phoebe stumbled back and almost tripped over an old pair of shoes.

"Knock it off, Prue!" Piper yelled. "Why can't you see that we're only trying to help you?"

"And why can't you see that I don't need your help?"

"Yes, you do, Prue."

Prue gasped. She recognized that voice, but she could scarcely believe it. After all the times she'd wanted to hear that voice, expected to hear that voice, and now that she did hear it, she was completely surprised. She turned her head hesitantly, almost as if she was afraid of what she'd find.

What she did see brought tears to her eyes. Andy was standing to her side, looking down at her with a concerned expression. He was sort of transparent and giving off a slight glow, but other than that, he was the same old Andy, looking at her like he used to when they were in high school. "Andy?"

"Yes, Prue, it's really me." He smiled at her and then crouched down in front of her chair. "I'm here because I have to tell you a couple of things."

She heard Piper and Phoebe both draw in their breath, but she was afraid to look away from Andy, afraid that if she did, he wouldn't be there when she looked back. But she was also a little afraid of what he was going to tell her. What if he told her that he did in fact blame her? What if he said that it was all her fault after all? What if he hated her? "Yes?" she asked a bit hesitantly.

He reached his hand out to her and smiled gently. "Sweetheart, I miss you so much. It hurts to see you this upset. I know why you've been staying awake at night. I know why you've been spending so much time up here. I know what you've been thinking about . . . and I want to tell you that you're completely wrong. About everything."

She blinked back tears, attempting to keep them from spilling over. What was he saying? How could she be wrong about everything? "What? Andy"

"This isn't your fault, Prue. Not at all. I made my own choices, Prue, and I made them for my own reasons. It's not your fault."

"I told you to let us handle it, Andy"

"And you would have died, Prue."

"Maybe you should have let me," she said quietly. The anger she had been feeling was disappearing, and it was being replaced by a heavy sadness so strong that she wasn't sure if she could survive it. She closed her eyes against her rapidly gathering tears. "You should have let me die."

"No, I shouldn't have." She opened her eyes and sniffled, waiting for him to speak again, to explain. "Your sisters need you too much, Prue. The world needs you too much."

"But I need you, Andy, don't you get that? I need you!" As hard as she had been trying not to start sobbing, she couldn't hold it in any longer. She closed her eyes and dropped her head down, her shoulders shaking with sobs. She felt someone uncuff her hands and untie her legs, and she immediately brought her hands up to cover her face. She didn't want anyone to see her crying. "You should have stayed away."

"Prue, I want you to listen to me." She opened her eyes and looked deep into his. "I came here that day to protect you, yes, but I also did that for my own sake. You were in trouble because of me, and if Rodriguez had killed you . . . I came here to do what I could do to stop him. And I did stop him, Prue, just not the way you would have liked me to. I don't regret what I did for one second. Don't you dare regret it for me."

"But Andy, it's just not fair"

"You're right. It's not fair and I'm not claiming it is. But really, what would have been fair? Letting him win? Losing any of you and giving evil that much of an upper hand? Believe it or not, Prue, this is the better way, the only way it could have happened."

She shook her head, wiping her eyes. What he was saying was crazy. How could he be so accepting of his death? How could he not blame her at all? It didn't matter what he said, whether or not it was his choice. He still made his choice for her. "It doesn't matter, Andy. I'll still my fault. You came here that day"

"Prue, listen. I came here that day, yes. The reason doesn't matter now. I'm not upset or angry or rueful or anything. I'm just hoping that if you know that, you'll start feeling a little better."

"Why do I need to?" she grumbled. "You can't make me."

Andy reached up to cup her cheek with the palm of his hand. Her skin tingled where he would have been making contact were he corporeal. "Well, first of all, you deserve to be happy, Prue. I want you to be happy for your sake. But second of al, you need to start feeling better because evil can take advantage of emotions. And evil has been taking advantage of yours. That's why you've been so angry lately. Someone's manipulating your feelings."

"Someone's making me feel this way?" she asked, confused.

"Not quite," he answered gently. "Someone's using what you've already been feeling and magnifying it, twisting it around, and making you think your feelings mean one thing when they really mean another. And the only way you're going to know what's real and what's been suggested to you is if you work things out."

"Who's been doing this?" Piper asked.

"I can't tell you," he said. "Only Prue can figure that out."

She dropped her gaze down to her legs, trying to stop crying. Did he really not blame her? Was it all really not her fault? She looked back into Andy's eyes, trying to read them. They showed no sign that he was lying to her, no sign that he was simply saying what he felt she needed to hear. "Andy, I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, smiling. "I never stopped loving you, and I'll always love you. One day, Prue, we'll be together again, but until then, you deserve to be happy. Work through whatever it is you have to work through and be happy. You owe it to yourself." He stood up a bit hesitantly.

Prue knew what that meant; he had to go. She stood up as well and wiped the tears from her eyes just as more formed. "Do you really have to go?"

He nodded apologetically. "I'm not supposed to be here in the first place, but I had to come see you. Are you going to be all right?"

She started to nod, then hesitated. She actually wasn't quite sure if she was going to be all right or not. She just shrugged sadly.

He smiled at her. "Well, the fact that you're admitting you're not sure is definitely a step in the right direction. You'll be fine. Let your sisters help you and remember, I'm watching over you all the time."

She gave him a small half-smile and nodded. "I'll remember that, Andy. I love you."

"I love you, too. Goodbye, Prue."

"Goodbye, Andy." She was going to watch him leave, but she changed her mind at the last minute. Closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to see him go, she sank back down in the chair, trying once again not to cry. After a moment, she felt both her sisters wrap her in a tight hug. She hugged them back, finally allowing herself to sob into Piper's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry . . ."

"Shh, Prue, it's okay," Piper whispered, stroking Prue's hair. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault."

Prue just held her sisters until she stopped crying, then pulled away and wiped her eyes. She needed to figure out her emotions because the evil that was playing with her mind wasn't going to be stopped any other way. She was starting to put two and two together already. Someone wanted her evil; the intense feelings of revenge weren't her own. She realized that she had started getting angrier after thinking of revenge and her summoning of the demons had been her turning point.

No, wait. The research for her summoning spell had been the turning point, because she had used her power on Phoebe prior to summoning the demons. She suddenly cringed, realizing that she had telekinetically tossed both her sisters more than once. "I didn't hurt you two too badly, did I?"

"Not too badly, no," Phoebe assured her, smiling. "Do you have any idea who's been manipulating you?"

Prue shook her head, then stopped short. Perhaps she did have an idea. She'd started feeling so much worse after she'd met with Jessica. But that was impossible; Jessica wasn't evil. She was just a normal young woman. Or was she? Prue suddenly remembered how much of Jessica's story about David paralleled her own experience with Andy. Perhaps it was all too much of a parallel. "You know, I think I might know who it is. I'll find out for sure tomorrow. Make sure your schedules for tomorrow are clear. You two are going to be making a stop at Buckland's."

"Wait, I don't get it," Piper asked, pacing the length of the parlor. "Why did you call her and tell her to meet you here? Won't she think that's a little odd?"

"No," Prue answered, shaking her head. "I told her I still wasn't feeling well, but that if she wanted, she could come here for a bit because we had an appointment at eleven and I didn't want to hold up her sale any longer than I had to. All we have to do is go over paperwork anyway, which doesn't have to be done at the office."

"Okay, but why did you tell her to come here?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, for one, we're stronger here," Prue reminded them. "For another, if she figured out that we think she's evil and she tried anything, I didn't want to have a supernatural smackdown at Buckland's. Too much explaining."

"But what if she comes here knowing she's been found out, Prue?" Piper asked hesitantly. "What if she tries something right off the bat?"

"Will you guys please just trust me?" Prue said gently. "I know my mind's been muddled the past few weeks, but believe me, I am totally thinking clearly right now. Andy was right; I need to figure out what's real and what's not, and I have. I barely got any sleep after he left because I was thinking about everything. I know I'm right, and I know I'm doing the right thing. Just trust me."

Piper walked up to Prue and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I do trust you, hon. I'm just nervous, is all, and I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"I promise," Prue smiled, "no one will get hurt."

And she was going to make sure that she honored that promise. Nothing was going to happen to her sisters if she could help it; that was why she had wanted Jessica to meet her at the Manor in the first place. They were less likely to get hurt when they were on their own territory.

As sure as she was that Jessica was the one who had been tricking her, she didn't want her to be. She identified so much with Jessica, and she really did like her. She remembered how comfortable she felt with her from the moment she first met her. It pained her to admit that she thought Jessica was evil, but she knew that Jessica was the only one it could be. She had met no one else in the past few days. She had started feeling so much worse when she started meeting with Jessica, and now that she was thinking about it, it did seem like Jessica would prod her and bring up subjects that would cause Prue's emotions to go haywire.

She sighed. How had she let herself be tricked so easily? Why couldn't she see through what Jessica had been doing to her, why hadn't she realized what had been happening in her own mind? She had almost lost herself to evil, the same evil that had taken Andy from her. She had almost given in. But she wasn't going to give in. She would fight, and she knew what she had to do. She had to stop thinking of Jessica as some poor distraught widow and start thinking of her as the evil demon who tried to turn the Charmed Ones evil.

When the doorbell rang a second later, it startled Prue. As Piper and Phoebe hid in the dining room, Prue hurried to the door and pulled it open. A slightly nervous Jessica was standing on the stairs. Prue frowned; what was she nervous about? Maybe she was wrong after all. "Jessica? Come on in."

"Thanks," Jessica said, stepping over the threshold. She gazed around the foyer then seemed to relax a little. "How are you feeling?"

"Still a little icky, but I'm getting better," Prue smiled. "It's mostly just a cough now, but I didn't want to be infecting the entire auction house." She motioned for Jessica to follow her into the parlor. The two women sat down on the couch, and Prue picked up the papers she had laid out on the coffee table. "All we need to do is go over the contracts, and then we can set up an open house for the beginning of next week."

"That sounds perfect," Jessica said. She took the papers from Prue's hand and began reading them over.

Now, Prue thought, it's time to test my theory. "Hey, Jessica, you know how you were saying yesterday that people are evil because they can just take from another without a second thought?"

"Yes," Jessica said, looking up at Prue with a confused expression.

"What would you say if I told you evil is real? That demons really exist?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to tell you a little story," Prue said. This is what she had been up all night planning; a way to bring up the idea to Jessica without revealing too much about her own destiny, just in case she was wrong. "My boyfriend Andy? He was killed by a demon, an actual demon that lived in the actual Underworld. And I thought that was the worst thing evil could do to me, but I was wrong. Turns out that it wasn't enough that evil took away the love of my life. Evil wanted me, too. So some other demon started twisting my feelings around and making me feel things I really wasn't feeling. The demon was turning me evil from the inside out."

The look on Jessica's face completely changed. The confused, innocent look disappeared and she just smirked. "You think you have it all figured out, don't you? Pain like that doesn't just go away overnight, Prue. Guilt like that doesn't just disappear. You only think you're thinking clearly, but you're not. I can still get you. Vengeance is still in your heart, Prue. You still want to get even with my side for taking him away from you."

"I can't avenge someone who doesn't want to be avenged," Prue said, standing up. "You severely underestimated what good can do . . . and what true love can do. He came to me, he told me about everything. And I cleared my head enough to figure out that it was you. How dare you do that to me?"

"It was almost too easy, Prue," she laughed. "It still is. I've gotten in your head before and I can do it again. You let me in and you gave me access to your weaknesses. You have no one to blame but yourself, Prue. And you do blame yourself, don't you? It doesn't matter what anyone says. It doesn't even matter what he says, does it? It's your fault and you know it."

Prue started to tear up. Jessica was right; it was her fault. It didn't matter what Andy said . . .

"Prue, don't listen to her!" Piper yelled. She and Phoebe had entered the room from the dining room, probably after hearing what Jessica had said to Prue. Jessica whirled around and Piper threw up her hands, freezing the demon in place. "Prue, you listen to me. Remember what Andy said. This is not your fault. She's doing this to you, and it needs to stop."

Prue nodded. "You're right. It does need to stop. And it will . . . right now." She held her hands out to her sisters. Piper and Phoebe joined Prue, grabbing her hands. "Ready, girls? Make this one hurt. The Power of Three will set us free."

The sisters repeated the chant. The freeze wore off a second later, and Jessica turned to look at the Charmed Ones. Prue met her eyes and gave her a smirk. That'll show her what she gets for attempting to take on the Charmed Ones, Prue thought. Prue stopped chanting and squeezed her sister's hands, telling them to stop chanting as well. "What are you doing?" Piper asked her.

"I want her to feel this," Prue said softly. She watched as Jessica shuddered in pain and screamed, then she started chanting again. After another few seconds, Jessica disappeared into a cloud of sparks. When the sparks died down, there was nothing left of her.

Phoebe immediately wrapped Prue in a tight hug. "Are you all right, honey?"

Prue nodded. "I will be. Come on. I'm taking you two out to lunch."

Piper smiled and wrapped her arms around Prue as the sisters headed towards the front door. Prue held both of her sisters close, thinking about how close she came to losing them. She vowed silently on her way out the door that she would never allow that to happen again.

-----

She had already called Buckland's that morning to tell them that she was still feeling under the weather but would be in the next day. Her thoughts were finally settling down, and she was attempting to work through the issues she knew were her own. She knew she wasn't alone, and her sisters had told her at lunch that they would help her however they could. What she had wanted to do more than anything when they had returned to the Manor, however, was sleep. She hadn't had a good night's sleep in roughly six weeks, and she was exhausted. Piper and Phoebe had agreed to leave her alone, but she knew they'd be checking on her every so often.

She wasn't sure exactly how long she'd been asleep when she felt someone watching her. She opened her eyes slowly, expecting to find either Piper or Phoebe hovering over her. She was surprised to see Andy sitting on the edge of her bed. "Andy? What are you doing here?"

"I just had to make sure you were okay."

"I'm okay," she said with a nod. Then she thought about everything she still had to work through and frowned. "Well, I will be okay."

"You have a lot of healing to do, honey, and I'm sorry for that." He smiled and touched her cheek, just as he had done in the attic. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

She nodded, swallowing quickly before the lump could rise any more in her throat. "Andy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why didn't you visit me before?" She cringed, realizing how selfish that sounded. "What I mean is--"

"I know what you meant," he chuckled. "Truth is, I'm not even supposed to be here now. Your Grams had to help me figure out a way down here earlier and only because you were in trouble."

She smiled slightly. "You see Grams?"

"Of course I do," he said, smiling.

Her face fell as she realized something. "If you're not supposed to be here, does that mean I'll never see you again?"

"We'll see each other again, Prue, just not for a long time. I'll be waiting up there for you, and I promise, we will be together again. But you have your life to live first, you have things to experience."

The tears were building in her eyes, and this time, she didn't try to hold them back. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you, too, but I'll never be too far away." He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. It felt like a small breath of wind across her forehead, but it was just as comforting as a real kiss would be. "Go back to sleep, hon. You're exhausted."

She nodded, her eyes sliding closed. As she was drifting back to sleep, she was filled with a sense of peace. Andy would never be far away from her, and he was safe. That was all that mattered, she supposed. She knew she had the strength to work through her issues and move on. She was, after all, Prue Halliwell, the eldest and strongest Charmed One.