Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Phoebe sat on the couch in what had been Prue’s room. The pain of losing her oldest sister filled her again. She hadn’t given herself many opportunities to break down, since her other older sister Piper had been rocked to the core by Prue’s death. Piper had been a mess, shifting between grief and anger, feelings that had only been tempered by the discovery of their younger sister Paige, and Phoebe hadn’t wanted to make things harder for both of her reeling sisters.

She had a secret that she’d kept from both of them though. Prue hadn’t been the first sister to die. In fact it had been Piper, who’d been shot by witch-wannabe after Prue and Piper had accidentally exposed their powers on live television while hunting the demon Shax. Leo had been in the Underworld with Phoebe and hadn’t been able to get back to save Piper, so Phoebe had made a deal with the Source of all Evil that she would stay in exchange for Tempus Fugit reversing time to undo the damage done by the reveal of magic and demons. Unfortunately, her half-demon boyfriend Cole had been unable to get back and warn her sisters and Shax had attacked again, this time killing Prue.

Things were difficult for Phoebe as she was still trying to manage the horrors she’d seen in the Underworld, along with the memories of the deaths of both her sisters. She hadn’t told anyone what she was going through.

Now tears began to flow freely down Phoebe’s cheeks and her shoulders shook with sobs. She’d only allowed herself to let go of her tightly-held emotions a few times. The first had been when Leo had rescued her and she’d learned for the first time that Prue was dead. The second was at Prue’s funeral, as she’d felt less guilty crying there, with Leo to comfort Piper, and the fact that it was generally acceptable to cry at such events. The third had been soon after vanquishing Shax, when she and Piper had been trying to track down Paige. She’d heard her older sister calling her and had finally let her walls down briefly, long enough to admit her grief for Prue. Piper hadn’t hesitated to comfort her, the first time she’d truly done so since Prue’s death, but Phoebe had ended up admitting more to her fear than her pain.

Phoebe couldn’t stop crying. All the pain and grief and guilt she felt for Prue’s death and Piper’s averted end came flooding back. She felt completely overwhelmed. Closing her eyes in an effort reign things in, she didn’t see or hear her sister enter the room, but she felt Piper carefully pull her into a hug.

“Phoebe,” Piper murmured quietly.

Phoebe opened her eyes and choked out a sigh. “Piper…I–”

Her sister didn’t let her finish her attempted apology. “It’s okay, sweetie, it’s alright.” Piper rubbed soothing circles on Phoebe’s back. “You’ve been holding in more than you’ve been letting on, haven’t you.”

Phoebe nodded. “I didn’t want to burden you.”

“Because you still remember my death, and you blame yourself for me and Prue?”

Surprise briefly drowned out Phoebe’s other emotions. “How did you–?” She’d never told Piper about what she’d done.

“Leo told me,” Piper explained. “He said you might have trouble dealing with what happened. I’d been planning to talk to about it, but I guess I haven’t really been there for you, have I?”

“I’m so sorry!” Phoebe choked out. “I shouldn’t have left; I should have been there for you guys instead of going after Cole.” Her whole body heaved as she let everything else.

“No, Phoebe,” Piper said gently. “You were right to help Cole. Besides, if you hadn’t been in the Underworld, we might not have reversed anything. You saved me, and you preserved the secrecy of magic.”

“Piper…” Phoebe whispered. She clung to her sister like a lifeline, not wanting to let go. “I am so sorry.”

Piper shook her head. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m just glad you’re finally starting to really let go. I suspected you hadn’t really done so before.” She hugged Phoebe more tightly, promising to not let go until Phoebe felt better.
* * * * *
It had been a few hours later since Phoebe’s talk with Piper. The new middle Charmed One was in the attic flipping through the Book of Shadows. Despite having had the book for three years, she still didn’t have most of the information memorized.

“Feeling better?” a chipper voice called.

Phoebe looked up, a smile crossing her face as she saw Paige entering the attic. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Paige hesitated. “I talked to Piper. She said that you were having a hard time.”

“Well, I was before, but I’m feeling a lot better now.”

“That’s great!” Paige exclaimed, “but I’m not sure I believe you.”

Phoebe shook her head in mock annoyance. “Sometimes I really hate that sixth sense of yours,” she announced. The youngest Charmed One had an innate emotional awareness that most likely stemmed from her Whitelighter heritage. It was an ability that was useful in her job as a social services assistant but not so fun when applied to sisters.

“You’re not flipping through the Book of Shadows to find a recipe for coffee,” Paige pointed out. “Spill.”

“First of all, that is a really sad pun,” Phoebe replied with a small laugh. “And second, I’m doing something potentially stupid.”

“You just out and admitted that?”

Phoebe nodded. “I’m going to use a time travel spell,” she explained. “I can’t save Prue, I know that, but maybe I can see what happened…get some closure.”

“If you’re time-traveling, then I’m coming too.”

“No way. It’s far too dangerous.”

“But it’s okay for you to go alone?”

“I’ve traveled back in time before,” Phoebe reminded her. “I know what I’m doing.”

Paige grinned. “Well, I can still help you. You’re sisters will recognize you immediately if they spot you, but they won’t know me.”

“It’s really risky though,” Phoebe argued. “What if we accidentally change something and make it so we never meet? Or what if one of us gets killed in the process? Only I should go.”

“Nope. I’m going too. I want to help you and besides, I still want to meet Prue too.”

Giving up, Phoebe agreed. “Fine. But you have to stay with me at all times. I’m the one who remembers everything and I can make sure we don’t make any irreversible changes.”

“As you wish, sister witch,” Paige said. She grabbed Phoebe’s hand to add her own power to the spell. “Sister witches cry aloud, spirits hear our call. Bring us to the time in shroud, so we can see a Charmed One’s fall.”

The spell began to take affect and the sisters heard Leo call, “No!” as he tried to stop them. But all he succeeded in doing was pushing himself into the spell and going back in time with them.
* * * * *
The first thing Phoebe noticed was that she was wearing a familiar pair of faint green coveralls over an orange shirt. The same thing she’d been wearing before Piper’s wedding.

“Phoebe!” Leo’s furious voice made her jump as the Whitelighter orbed into her bedroom.

“Hey…Leo…how’s it going?” she asked nervously.

“What exactly were you planning when you cast that time-travel spell?” he demanded, clearly not in the mood for small talk.

Phoebe winced. “I wanted come back as a watcher, to get some closure over Prue’s death.”

Leo frowned. “Well, you didn’t just come back as a watcher. You brought us back, all of us, into our past selves.”

“Go get Paige,” Phoebe ordered.

“Why?”

“Because she can’t control her orbing yet, and I want us to have a powwow about what to do now,” she said, as if was obvious.

Leo shook his head. “It could be dangerous to bring her here while Prue is still alive. There’s only supposed to be a Power of Three, and Paige and Prue share a power.”

“No problem. Paige didn’t have her wiccan powers yet.”

Leo sighed, but orbed away, reappearing again in a few moments with Paige at his side. “I don’t think the spell worked the way you intended it to,” Paige announced.

“No, it didn’t,” Phoebe agreed. “It put us back in our past selves.”

“The spell did more than that.” Leo’s voice was filled with apprehension. “It brought us back here permanently. We can’t return to our time because we are back to being a part of this time. And that means that you will have to be very careful about what you do next. Any major actions could have unexpected repercussions that change the future in undesired ways.”

“So what do we do?” Paige asked, now seeming a bit nervous.

Phoebe thought quickly. “Well first, we need to get through today. It’s Piper and Leo’s wedding that only family is coming to, so we can say that you’re our cousin on Mom’s side and that I met you a little while ago.”

“I don’t think that will fly.” Paige’s voice was skeptical.

“It doesn’t matter,” Phoebe said. “Because Piper’s wedding’s a bit more…eventful then planned. Once everything starts to go down, no one will even bat an eye at you being there. But you will have to wait a little before actually being seen. Once Prue has her first dizzy spell, I’ll come get you and we’ll play it from there. Oh, and Mom is going to be there.”

“What!”

“Did I forget to mention that?”

“Yes!” Both Leo and Paige yelled in annoyance.

Phoebe sighed. “Well it doesn’t matter. We’re here now and we’ll have to make the best of it.”

Leo was staring at her. “And what about me?” he asked.

“You know what day it is,” Phoebe pointed out. “Face it, Leo, you’re getting married again."

Chapter Text

“Check out what I found in the attic,” Phoebe announced, slipping into the kitchen, an old cup in her hands. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Prue, clearly exhausted, but very much alive. “Prue!” she whispered.

Prue didn’t notice the reaction, as she didn’t turn around immediately. “I hope it's something old 'cause we already have new, borrowed and blue covered.”

Phoebe forced a smile. “Is Melinda Warren's blessing cup old enough?” She gave it to her oldest sister to examine.

Prue picked it up with an appraising eye. “That is very cool,” she agreed.

“Yeah, what could be better than to give Piper the actual cup that our favorite ancestor drank from at her wedding.” Remembering what was coming next, Phoebe turned and headed towards the stairs, reasoning that Prue wouldn’t want to chew her out if she was with Piper.

She was just in time to hear Piper scream in surprise, ordering Leo to leave so as not to induce bad luck. Piper paused her rambling as she noticed Paige, who’d come in with Leo.

“Who is this?” she demanded.

“Oh,” Phoebe exclaimed, as Prue hurried to join them. “This is Paige, our cousin from our mother’s side.”

“We don’t have any cousins on Mom’s side,” Prue argued. Knowing what to look for, Phoebe could tell how exhausted Prue was.

“Actually we do,” Phoebe announced. “I met her a little while ago.”

Piper scowled. “And you decided to invite her to my wedding?”

“Phoebe made it sound like the place to be,” Paige offered unhelpfully.

“Phoebe!” the oldest two Halliwells snapped.

Paige raised an eyebrow in amusement. “We should let her stay,” Leo put in. “Paige is your family; she deserves to be here.”

Prue glanced up at Piper. “Your wedding, your call.”

Piper let out a deep breath. “Since she’s here, she might as well stay.” She spun around, leaving the rest of them in tense silence.

“All right, spill,” Prue demanded. “When exactly did you meet our long-lost cousin.”

“Er, a little while ago,” Phoebe answered. “We met at a coffee shop and found out then.”

Prue had clearly decided that interrogations would have wait. “Good, you’re here,” she said to Leo.

“Yeah, I'm just looking for a place to change.” Phoebe could Paige was holding back laughter at the sight of Leo’s ridiculous wardrobe.

“Uh, what's with the robe?”

“Oh, it's my formal Whitelighter wear.” Phoebe guessed Leo felt awkward having to relive this part.

“Um, yeah, I-I hope you don't mind but we sort of decided that you should be a little bit more traditional, so we rented you a tux,” Phoebe laughed, as she handed his new outfit to him.

Everyone turned at the sound of the door opening. Victor had arrived. “Anyone home?” he called warmly.

“Daddy!” Phoebe exclaimed as she went over to give him a hug. “Hi.”

“Hi, baby. Leo,” he added in a chilly tone.

“Victor,” Leo replied nervously.

Victor headed to join Prue. “Hey, Prue.”

She leaned into his side hug and let him kiss her head. “Hey, Dad.” She turned back towards Leo and said, “Well, I know that you have a lot of joy and laughter to share so I'll just take you down... whoa.” Suddenly she stumbled. Victor helped her sit down.

“What's the matter?” he asked in concern.

“Uh, just a, uh, dizzy spell. I've been getting them ever since those dreams began,” Prue explained.

Phoebe looked at Leo, expecting him to inquire about the dreams, but he said nothing.

“What dreams?” Victor asked the question instead.

“Oh, you know, those dreams... uh, you know, it's nothing.” Prue cut herself off.

“Yeah, certainly nothing to worry about. Okay, you two, follow me." To Prue she added, "You just sit there and relax. Paige, stay with her. I'll be right back” She led the two men to the basement. “Get dressed and no fighting,” she ordered them. Hurrying back to Prue, who did not seem appreciative that she was showing weakness in front of her newly-found relative, she summarized the situation like she’d done the first time. “Prue, okay, we've got everyone convinced that we have things under control. Now you have to convince me.”

“I wish I could,” Prue groaned. Phoebe narrowed her eyes, noting the way the conversation had changed. She glanced up at Paige, meeting her little sister’s eyes.

Phoebe sat down next to Prue, rubbing her back gently. “Your dreams are too realistic, aren’t they? And they’re not allowing you any rest?”

Prue nodded, seeming surprised. “Yeah, that covers it.”

“I think you’re astral projecting in your sleep,” Phoebe explained. “That’s when your subconscious takes over and it’s escaping through your astral form.”

“She knows about–?” Prue began.

“Yeah, she knows, but there’s no time to explain that now,” Phoebe cut in. “Paige and I will take care of this almighty to-do list while you get some rest.” She knew it was pointless to advise against sleep. Her big sister was so exhausted she would fall asleep no matter what. “And I know that you’re not sure you can trust Paige, but I promise she only wants to help.”

Prue nodded in reluctant agreement. “Okay.” She stood up gingerly and started up the stairs.

“Wow, handing over control to your little sister; you must really be tired,” Phoebe noted. Prue rubbed Phoebe’s arm gratefully before heading up.

Paige stared at her. “So that’s Prue.”

Phoebe nodded. “She’s not exactly in top form, but yeah, that’s Prue.”

“What happens now?” Paige asked.

“Prue falls asleep and astrals out again, getting caught by cops and arrested for murder in the process.”

“Why aren’t we stopping that?” Paige sounded incredulous.

Phoebe closed her eyes. “Because this is important for both Prue and Piper. In order for Leo and Piper to become who they’re meant to be, Prue’s biker man has to ruin the wedding.”

“If Piper finds out you knew and let it happen, she’s going to kill you.”

“Well since we’re stuck living things out again, I see only one reasonable path, and that’s that we only change the most critical of things, Prue’s death included.” Phoebe’s voice broke again.

Paige wrapped an arm around her shoulder comfortingly. “We’ll save Prue,” she promised.

“Then let’s get ready for a wedding.”
* * * * *
After some time had passed, Phoebe found herself going with Paige and Prue to Piper’s room. She could see Piper hugging their mother tightly. “Mom,” Phoebe murmured.

“It's true. She's real. They sent her to us for today,” Piper explained, looking at the three of them.

Patty looked over her daughters, an expression of pure shock indicating that she’d noticed Paige. Phoebe stepped forward before Patty could say anything. “Mom, this is Paige, our cousin from your side.”

Patty relaxed slightly, though Phoebe could tell that she was going to talk to them after the wedding. Patty turned to Prue. “Oh, Prue. It's been so hard on you, unfair.”

Prue shook her head. “Yeah... no, it doesn't matter. I just wanted to make you proud.”

“You protected this family far better than I could.”

“Thank you,” Prue whispered, hugging Patty.

Patty turned to Paige. “I never had the chance to know you,” she said. “But I’m sure I would have been proud of you too.” She hugged Paige too, and Phoebe smiled with joy for her baby sister, though Prue and Piper didn’t seem quite so thrilled by the unexpected embrace, or the kind words.

“And you, my baby, you feel it all, don't you? I was never there to comfort you. I died before you even knew me,” Patty said, as she turned towards Phoebe.

“Some nights I just wanted you to hold me,” she admitted. “But I know you’ve always been there for us.”

“Your road's been the longest, Phoebe. But I was never worried about you. You know why? Because I had a premonition the day you were born.”

“You did?” Phoebe asked, despite already knowing this.

“What did you see?” Piper added.

Patty smiled, love in her eyes. “Oh, I saw this. I saw this moment right now, my beautiful daughters standing before me as beautiful young women and I knew that everything would be okay.”

“What did you see next?” Phoebe couldn’t stop herself.

“I held you.” Patty pulled all four of her daughters into in an embrace.

A few minutes later, all the Charmed Ones were standing downstairs except Piper, who was waiting for the ceremony to start. Someone rang the doorbell and irritation filled Prue’s face.

“Don’t answer that,” the eldest sister ordered.

A few seconds later, Piper called down. “Could someone answer that?”

Phoebe pushed past Prue and opened the door for Darryl. “Yes, I know, you’re saving our butts,” she said before he could say anything. “Prue’s wanted for murder and it’s only a matter of time before they figure everything out. But we can deal with that later. First, we have a wedding to get to. For Piper!”

Darryl sighed. “This better be a quick wedding.”

“You’re supposed to say ‘For Piper!’” Paige pointed out.

Darryl glanced at her curiously. “Don’t you work with social services? What are you doing here?”

“No time to explain!” Phoebe hissed. She grabbed Darryl by the wrist and moved him over to where Cole and Victor were standing before returning to her place next to Prue.

“Any chance you’ll tell me what’s going on?” Prue asked, a mixture of curiosity and suspicion in her eyes.

“I’ll tell you if everything goes the way it’s supposed to,” Phoebe promised.

Prue rolled her eyes as if realizing that was as good as she was going to get for now.

“All right, who brought my ex-wife back from the dead?” Victor’s voice startled both Phoebe and Prue, whole turned to look at their father, who was clearly very confused. Patty seemed a bit nervous, and Paige inconspicuously slipped behind Phoebe.

“Not now, Victor. I know you two have issues but that's what the reception is for,” Grams announced, beginning the wedding.

Piper slowly walked down the stairs, meeting Victor, who took his daughter by the arm and escorted her to Leo.

“We did it. It's really happening,” Phoebe breathed, her fingers crossed behind her back. Just then, a revving sound echoed through the house, and a good-looking man rode into the foyer on a motorcycle.

“Prue!” the man called, looking around for the oldest Halliwell sister. Phoebe didn’t say anything, just motioned for Paige to move forward.

Prue recognized the man and muttered, “Oh, oh, oh no.” She fainted and Phoebe and Paige caught her, lowering her gently to the ground. A few seconds later, astral Prue appeared, running towards the man. “TJ! You came,” she said.

“Had to beat the cops. I won't let them take you,” TJ promised as she sat behind him. He revved the engine again and rode off, knocking the cake onto the ground as he did so.

Phoebe could see the devastation in Piper’s gaze. She stepped carefully, avoiding Piper’s dress and moved to stand next to her sister.

“Alright, that's it! The wedding is off!” Piper snapped furiously.

“No, it’s not, Piper,” Phoebe said. “You and Leo are going to get married, and it’s going to be amazing.”

“How is it going to be amazing?” Piper demanded. “My big sister just ruined my wedding and rode off with some stranger.”

Phoebe pulled Piper into a hug. “I know everything seems scary and strange right now, but I promise that you and Leo are meant to be. I also know that you need some time to think, so you go do that, while I fix this again. And Paige will help.”

“Oh, sure, our long-lost cousin is going to help you fix this,” Piper snorted. “Good luck with that.”

Phoebe had suspected that Piper wouldn’t notice her choice of words, and she was right. “Trust me, Paige is more than capable.”

Piper groaned. “Fine. I’m going to the club.” She pulled on a sweater and left.

Victor had carried Prue into the conservatory and placed her on the couch.

Phoebe sat down next to her big sister. “Leo, Cole, Darryl, you guys should do some investigating at the bar. Cole can sense when someone has shed blood, so it shouldn’t take too long.”

“How did you know about that?” Cole asked.

“I’m a witch,” she replied with a wink. He didn’t look satisfied. “I’ll tell you everything later,” she promised. He nodded and shimmered out, followed a second later by Leo.

“What’s going on here?” Victor asked.

“Dad, I need you to find as many candles, flashlights, and batteries as you can. Trust me, we’re going to need them,” Phoebe assured him.

“What, did you have a premonition or something?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’ve seen what the future holds for us.” Victor headed off in the direction of the kitchen.

“All right, sweetheart, what’s going on?” Patty questioned. “I was brought back from the dead for my daughter’s wedding, but you seem to have brought your baby sister, who I might add, you aren’t even supposed to know about.”

Phoebe didn’t answer right away. She looked down at Prue, brushing hair out of her face. Her big sister was barely moving, with only her faint breathing indicating that she was still alive. The last time she’d seen Prue this still had been after Leo and Cole had rescued her from the Underworld and she’d come home to find the house a mess and her sister…Tears sprung to her eyes, and she felt Paige’s reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Patty asked, speaking more gently this time.

“We’re from the future,” Phoebe began. “Not far, only a few months, but it’s a future where first Piper, and then after a time reset, Prue, were killed. Because the Power of Three was broken, you and Grams told us about Paige. She joined us, and she’s been doing a really great job so far. But…I never really had a chance to properly mourn Prue, plus it was kind of my fault she died, so I decided to cast a spell to come back here as an invisible watcher to have a chance for closure. Paige offered to come with me, but Leo interfered at the last minute, changing the spell and sticking us in our past bodies. That gives us a chance to change things, but we can’t risk shifting things too much.”

Patty stared at her youngest daughters in shock. “I guess I should be used to this by now,” she sighed. “My daughters time-traveling to when I am. Although, a few months is a bit less drastic than twenty-four years.”

“Unlike last time, there is no return for us,” Paige stated. “We’re in this time now and we’re staying. But maybe we can change things for the better.”

“I’ll help you in any way I can, but you know I have to leave at midnight,” Patty reminded them.

Phoebe nodded. “Yeah, I know, Mom.” She turned at the sound of footsteps. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Well, I found a bucket’s worth of what you asked for, but I still don’t completely understand.”

“Why don’t you and Mom go talk to Piper,” Phoebe suggested. “Paige and I will stay here and watch Prue.” She watched as her parents walked away, still clearly uneasy at being together again.

“So what’s your plan?” Paige asked.

Phoebe pointed at the Book of Shadows. “There’s a spell in here that will allow me to summon Prue’s astral self back here. Once she’s back, you can’t interfere with anything that happens. Astral Prue will have a lot of steam to blow off and I’m a very good outlet.”

“Do you know this from the previous time it happened?”

Phoebe nodded ruefully. “Yeah. Ready?” Paige agreed and Phoebe cast the spell. Astral Prue materialized, her arms circled as if she’d been trying to grab hold of something to stop her teleportation. “Pretty neat spell, huh?” Phoebe noted, unable to help her slight satisfaction.

Astral Prue looked at her unconscious self and scowled. “I’m outta here.” She started to walk off, but Phoebe grabbed her shoulder. Prue snatched her arm and flipped her to the ground. “You know what?” she said, grabbing Phoebe by the throat. “You can not stop me, alright. I am never going back. I'm not going...”

Her words were cut off by Phoebe swinging her onto the couch. “Got it out of your system?” Phoebe asked neutrally. As Prue glared at her, she added. “I know why you’re so upset. You’re tired of watching your sisters live the life you want…the life of finding love and happiness. And another version of me would have said that you have responsibilities, but the truth is that you’ve filled those responsibilities. You took care of us after Mom died and sacrificed so much just to ensure that we had a chance at a normal life.”

“Another version of you?” Prue echoed.

“It doesn’t matter,” Phoebe said. “Piper and I are okay now. We both have passion and purpose in our life, which you gave us. But you can’t keep devoting your whole self to the Charmed Ones, or it’ll tear you apart, just like the suppressed version of you astralled out in a dream.”

Astral Prue stepped closer and hugged Phoebe. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Phoebe promised.

Astral Prue sat down next to her unconscious self. “Is Piper very mad at me?”

“She’ll get over it,” Paige promised. “She will marry Leo and everything will turn out all right.”

“You’re not half bad,” Astral Prue conceded. “Regular me may still have some doubts, but I recognize a kindred spirit when I see one. And I’m sure that you and Phoebe have a very good reason for what you’re doing and will tell us everything when the time is right.”

The youngest Charmed Ones nodded. “Of course.”

Prue sat up a few seconds after her astral self disappeared into her. “Welcome back,” Phoebe greeted her.

“Thanks,” Prue said wryly. She groaned as she looked around. “I cannot believe I wrecked Piper’s wedding.”

“Only part of you did,” Paige said reassuringly.

“Is it too late to fix it?” Prue asked.

“It’s not, but you still have one other problem to deal with,” Phoebe announced. “Don’t worry, Leo, Cole, and Darryl are on it.”

Just then the manor’s power went out. “What now?” Prue grumbled.

“That would be your other problem,” Paige replied, as a group of police officers came in and arrested Prue for murder.
* * * * *
“Now I see why you wanted me to gather this stuff,” Victor announced, lighting the candles.

“Yup,” Phoebe agreed. “Knowing the future can be helpful sometimes.”

It had been a few hours since Prue had been booked, and though Victor had been a bit worried that it had taken so long, Leo and Cole had assured him that it was just taking longer because she had escaped police custody.

Grams appeared in a flurry of golden light. “I'm sorry, Patty. They sent me to take you back.”

“Uh, uh, uh,” Phoebe said. “We still have five more minutes. Not to mention that in three…two…one.”

Prue walked through the front door with Darryl behind her. “What, not who you were expecting?” she teased.

Piper followed behind her. “So, okay, what are we waiting for?” She paused for a moment as Prue helped her take off her sweater. Turning to Leo, she added, “Why do you look so pleased?”

“Because I never lost faith in you,” he replied.

Everyone returned to their positions, ready for the wedding again.

“Is that the best we can do on the lights?” Prue asked, after Grams had magically set some music going. Leo grinned and photokinetically sent some orbs in the air, illuminating the manor. “That’s more like it.”

Grams cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “We are gathered here today to unite two souls as one. Do you, Leo Wyatt, and Piper Halliwell, join us here of your own free will to acknowledge the eternal bond shared by both of you?”

Leo answered first, followed quickly by Piper. “I do.”

“You may face each other, join hands. Uh, Leo, you may recite your vows.”

Leo looked into Piper’s eyes. “Piper, through all the tears and struggles, I always knew in my heart that we'd make it here. I promise to love and respect you from this point forward as your husband, as my wife, my lover, my friend, and my soul mate. All I am is yours.”

“Piper,” Grams prodded.

Piper’s joy was evident. “Leo, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I was afraid that you were too good to be true, that maybe I didn't deserve someone so pure and beautiful and loving as you are. But here we are surrounded by the people that I love the most and I feel so proud, and so blessed to be your wife. Leo, I was born to love you and I always will.”

Grams continued the ceremony. “Here before witnesses, Leo and Piper have sworn their vows towards each other. With this cord, I bind them to those vows.”

The rope she’d summon wrapped around their wrists loosely. Both spoke the commitment words. “Heart to thee, body to thee, always and forever, so mote it be.”

“So mote it be,” Grams added, and everyone else repeated the words. The clock struck midnight, signifying that it was time Grams and Patty to return. “Kiss her fast,” Grams urged.

The newlyweds kissed each other, finally married. Everyone else applauded. Phoebe watched her sister and her brother-in-law, married again, but also for the first time. She was determined to protect her family’s happiness.

“This was a beautiful wedding,” Paige whispered in her ear. “I’m glad I got to watch it. But…what do we do now.”

Phoebe didn’t answer right away, watching her mother and grandmother leave. “We do whatever it takes to save the future, to save Prue. And to do that, we’re going to have to let Cole in on the secret.”

Chapter Text

Phoebe had spent the last week focused on the terrifying premonition of Prue’s death. She knew that it was nearly time to take the action that would change the future, but she was still unsure how to do that. The task was nearly impossible without revealing future knowledge or Paige’s identity, made even more difficult by the fact that Prue was such a selfless person, she would throw herself in front of every one of Shax’s attacks.

“Any luck?” Paige’s voice sounded from the doorway.

“Hi, Paige,” Phoebe said. “No, unfortunately not. No matter what, Prue always dies.”

Having Paige around had been incredible. Prue and Piper had slowly warmed up to their “cousin,” and she had helped them with several incidents in exchange.

The first incident was Prue’s struggle with the Angel of Death. Thanks to Phoebe and Paige’s close encounters with deaths of loved ones, they’d both been able to see the Angel of Death this time. They’d helped Piper realize that the eldest Charmed One wasn’t going crazy and that she had to let the Seekers kill Davidson to help her come to terms with their mother’s death.

The second incident had been strange, to say the least. When a treacherous familiar attacked the Charmed Ones so they could kill him repeatedly and grant him immortality as a warlock, they’d had to figure out a way to kill him permanently. At the same time, Prue was trying to come to terms with Piper moving out, while Phoebe did her best to feign the emotions and Paige teased her for letting Piper move out. Eventually they’d defeated the warlock and Piper had once again agreed to stay in the manor.

The third incident, Phoebe and Leo had managed to partially avert. Phoebe’d stopped the demon from infecting the Charmed Ones once, as her previous experience had made her immune to its effects, but he'd come back later and infected Prue and Piper. She’d gone with Prue after the latter and Piper had been infected, while Paige, who’d stayed away until Phoebe gave her the all-clear, stayed with a gluttony-infected Piper at the manor, trying to keep her from buying too much. Eventually, the Charmed Ones had regrouped at the manor, and Phoebe sacrificed herself to the anger-infected man the demon had sent, so Piper could have a chance to free herself from the infection. Leo had healed Phoebe and the three sisters had gone to save a pride-infected Prue.

The next incident had been somewhat shortened, as Phoebe and Leo already knew exactly what the plan was for the Brotherhood of the Thorn and had convinced Cole not to go undercover. In the middle of this, Paige had secretly mastered her orbing powers while Piper finally unlocked her molecular combustion, which did throw a bit of a wrench in things. Phoebe had taken on the banshee alone, due to not having the pain of Cole’s supposed betrayal and coming to terms with Prue’s death, which she was determined to stop.

Now she was isolating, focusing on her premonitions with one goal: to find a future that would save Prue. It was difficult, but she wouldn’t stop until she had saved Prue and redeemed herself.

“Piper and Prue are worried about you,” Paige said. “They don’t seem to like that you’ve been alone in your room for the last week.”

“I have to save Prue!” Phoebe groaned. “I’m not going to let her die again, and I am not going to let magic be exposed.”

Paige put her hand on Phoebe’s shoulder. “There must be a way.”

Phoebe gasped as she was pulled into yet another premonition.

Shax following the Charmed Ones to the manor and attacking them. Phoebe taking him on alone while Prue, Piper, and Paige said the spell. A concussive wind blast striking Phoebe just before the spell vanquished Shax

“Phoebe!” Paige exclaimed, as Phoebe was blasted backwards from the effects of the premonition. Dazed with shock, Phoebe barely noticed Paige orbing to catch her, perfectly reorienting them to slow the backwards motion unnoticed.

“What is going on here?” Cole’s surprised voice jolted Phoebe back to full awareness.

“I’m not sure,” Paige admitted. “One second, she was having a premonition, and the next, she was flying backwards. I barely managed to orb her before she crashed through her bedroom wall."

Phoebe laughed weakly. “I know how to beat Shax,” she announced. “But you’re not going to like it.”

Phoebe was right. Paige very much did not appreciate the idea, nor did Cole. The plan was simple: pretend like they’d brought Dr. Griffiths to the manor and lure Shax with them. Once there, Phoebe would take on Shax while Paige read the vanquishing spell, which Phoebe still had memorized, with Prue and Piper. Once they vanquished Shax, they could finally tell their sisters everything.

“This doesn’t seem safe,” Paige protested. “I mean, we know that Shax blasts your sisters through the walls, which is what killed Prue. What if something like that happens to you too?"

“Well this time, we’ll have Leo ready and waiting,” Phoebe pointed out. “With magic not exposed, and me not in the Underworld, he’ll be able to get there to help us.”

Cole narrowed his eyes. “Don’t your premonitions only effect you drastically when something really bad happens?”

Phoebe didn’t answer the question. According to her premonition, the only way to beat Shax, save Prue, and avoid exposing magic was for her take the demon hitman on herself. And in her vision, she had indeed been blasted through manor walls.

“Please tell me there’s another way,” Paige begged.

“I’m sorry; there isn’t,” Phoebe replied. “But everything will work. I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Paige threatened.

Cole nodded in agreement. “Me too.”

“Then let’s go destroy us a cyclone demon,” Phoebe cheered. Neither Paige, nor Cole smiled.
* * * * *
The Charmed Ones burst through the manor door. “Okay, I think we made it. I'm sure we made it. Do you think we made it?” Piper rambled nervously.

“I don’t know,” Prue answered apprehensively.

“I think he would've attacked by now if we hadn't,” Phoebe pointed out. She tried to stop herself from shaking with nervous energy. Her memories were at the forefront of her mind in full force, threatening to overwhelm her, but she pushed them back.

An illusionary Dr. Griffiths stood there, clearly quite confused. “Who? Who would've attacked? Why won't you tell me what's going on?”

“Because we're busy trying to save your life,” Phoebe told it, feeling strange with how crystalline her memories were.

“From who?”

Prue sighed. “Uh, unfortunately we're not quite sure.”

“That's because Phoebe did not give us time to figure it out,” Piper added, with a slight glare at her little sister.

“Well, I didn't have a lot of time, I mean, I can't control how far in the future my premonitions take place. I saw the attack, we kicked butt, what more do you want?” Phoebe asked defensively.

“I would like to know more about who we are up against,” Piper told her pointedly.

Phoebe gulped. “Actually, I–” She was cut off by a memory suddenly overtaking her. –Piper and Prue lying unconscious on the ground, bleeding from their injuries.– “No! Not again!” she whispered, dropping to her knees as she relived the moment she’d waited for Leo to come and heal her sisters.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Prue demanded, grabbing her and turning her so she was looking into her little sister’s eyes. Pity filled her as she realized that Phoebe's eyes were glazed and filled with pain and terror. “Come on, Phoebe!” she urged.

Phoebe barely heard her. She was back in the former future/past, crying as a devastated Leo told her that Prue was dead. Then she was orbing home with her brother-in-law, only to find her big sister was dead and Piper was sobbing brokenly over their sister’s body. “Not again!” she promised. Her vision cleared and she saw Prue and Piper kneeling in front of her, concern filling their gazes. “I’m okay,” she said. “Let’s get this demon once and for all.”

Prue seemed surprised by the venom in her voice. “Phoebe, what exactly do you know about this demon?” she asked gently.

“His name is Shax,” Phoebe began shakily. “He’s very powerful, using concussive wind blasts as his primary attacks. He’s a hitman directly for the Source of All Evil. The vanquishing spell requires multiple witches to take its full impact, and if he’s injured, he’ll just turn into the wind and flee.” She stared hard at her sisters. “But if he leaves the manor, we cannot follow him to attack. It’s too risky.”

“So do you have a plan?” Piper asked.

Phoebe nodded. “I’m going to hold him off long enough for you to say the spell.”

“We don’t know the spell,” Piper protested.

“Phoebe wrote it down,” Paige said, emerging from where she’d been in the kitchen.

Before the eldest sisters could reply, a gusty explosion knocked them all off their feet. Shax materialized in front of them with a gleeful sneer.

Phoebe pressed the paper with the spell into Prue’s hands and shoved her sisters backwards. “Say the spell with Paige!” she ordered. Then she leaped to her feet to confront the demon. “Face me, Shax! You will not kill any of my sisters this time!” she yelled.

“I am the end,” Shax rumbled contemptuously. Phoebe launched herself at him, distracting him with a series of kicks and punches. She’d never faced him in direct combat, but she wasn’t surprised at how ineffectual her attacks were–the demon was built like a bodybuilder.

In her peripheral vision, she saw her sisters scramble to join Paige. They began to chant the spell, voices clear and confident. “Evil wind that blows, that which forms below…” Shax noticed too and moved to hit them with a concussive blast, but Phoebe threw off his aim and took the full brunt of it. “No longer may you dwell, death takes you with this spell!”

The sisters finished the spell, successfully vanquishing Shax, just as Phoebe crashed hard through the wall to land outside. Pain flared inside her, and she dimly realized that this was what it must have felt like for Piper and Prue. She heard her sisters calling out her name and Leo’s, and then everything went black.

Desperate pleas were the first thing she was aware of. Then she opened her eyes, regretting it as the light shone far too brightly. “Phoebe,” all three of her sisters murmured in relief.

“Hey guys,” she groaned. They helped her sit up, and she did her best to fight through the dizziness.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Piper said.

“You knew he was going to hit you, didn’t you?” Paige grumbled.

Phoebe shook her head, immediately regretting the motion as pain hit her. “I spent a full week studying premonitions to figure out a way to change things, and that was the only path that worked.

“But did I heal you?” Leo asked.

“I didn’t get that far,” Phoebe admitted. “But I figured you weren’t about to lose another one of us.”

Prue and Piper helped Phoebe slowly limp to the couch. “You’ve been talking strangely for the last few months,” Prue said. “I think it’s time you told us what’s going on.”

“You’re right,” Paige agreed.

“Why am I not surprised that you’re a part of this too?” Prue noted.

“We’re from the future,” Phoebe blurted.

Surprised looks met her announcement. “What!?”

Phoebe nodded. “In the future we’re from, Shax attacked, he hurt you too pretty badly, but I hurt him back with the spell and he fled. You two followed him and may or may not have vanquished him, but it didn’t matter because the fight was caught on live television and you were exposed. Before we found out about that though, I went down to the Underworld to save Cole, who’d unwillingly given in to evil, and left you two alone to face the aftermath. You guys threw out a witch wannabe, who shot Piper. Since Leo was in the Underworld with me, trying to find Tempus, who was not actually vanquished like we thought, he couldn’t hear you calling him to heal Piper. You brought her to the hospital, but she was too badly wounded and she died. The Source offered us a deal: he would get Tempus to turn back time to undo the damage in exchange for me staying in the Underworld, citing Piper’s death as an incentive. Leo went to check on you guys and found Piper dead, so you told him to go back and take the deal, Prue.”

“Since we were in the Underworld, we were unaffected by the time reset,” Leo added. “Phoebe told Cole to go up and warn you about Shax, since you wouldn’t know what was going on and she wouldn’t be there to help you, but the Source interfered and stopped him from warning you.”

“Shax attacked again, but this time you died from the attack, Prue. By the Leo got there, you were already gone, and your soul had moved on, so there was nothing he could do. He healed Piper and came back to rescue me, but everything was…wrong. The Power of Three was broken, you and Dr. Griffiths were dead, and we were being investigated for murder. Not to mention Piper was obsessively trying to bring you back. I didn’t let myself give in to my emotions, assuming that only one of us could break down at a time or we’d both be useless,” Phoebe said. Tears were streaming freely down her face.

Piper wrapped her sister in a hug. “I’m sorry you felt like you had to suppress your emotions,” she apologized.

“Your frantic efforts to save Prue were what saved us. You cast the To Call a Lost Witch spell, and instead of finding Prue, you found our baby sister.”

“Paige,” Prue guessed.

“Yes,” Paige agreed. “I’m half-witch, half-whitelighter…witchlighter, as Phoebe dubbed it.”

“Mom and Sam?” Piper asked.

Phoebe nodded. “Because at that time, witch and whitelighter relationships were unheard of, Mom and Sam had to give Paige up at birth. They brought her to a church and gave her to a nun there, requesting that she name the baby something starting with a ‘P’. Obviously she did.”

“While we were at the funeral, Paige and Phoebe met and Phoebe had a premonition of Shax attacking Paige. Despite having absolutely no idea who she was, Phoebe was determined to protect her from the demon that killed you. She memorized the vanquishing spell and worked with Cole to watch over Paige.”

“We didn’t vanquish him then, but that’s when we discovered Paige could orb. After facing Shax again, we came back here to discuss the situation. Piper chewed me out a bit for trying to get myself killed, but later tried to make up for it with tea. Eventually Leo came back from talking with the Elders, who had no idea Paige existed. Piper summoned Grams and Mom hitched a ride too, and they told us the story. An inspector caught us in the middle of it, so Darryl clocked him and Grams and I cast a spell to send him to Timbuktu. By that point, Paige had found her way to the manor, and we reconstituted the Power of Three just in time for Shax to attack yet again. This time, we managed to vanquish him and avenge Prue’s death.”

“I spent the next two days with my boyfriend, who had been possessed by the Source, and he tried to turn me evil. Thankfully, Phoebe and Piper managed to save me,” Paige continued.

“In the middle of that, I had a small breakdown and Piper managed to comfort me. But after we saved Paige, Piper started acting extra irrational and angry, hunting down demons preemptively. When we encountered a trio of Furies, Piper got infected and transformed into a Fury because of her suppressed anger. Paige ended up saving the day, coming up with a plan and figuring out that Piper was mad at Prue for leaving us alone.”

Leo picked up the misadventures part of the story. “After some learning curves, such as Paige causing herself and Phoebe to switch bodies, the three of you almost being turned into clay figurines, and Paige summoning the prince whom one of her former lives had tried to use to take control of the kingdom, things settled down.”

“But without anything to occupy us, I finally had a chance to truly let my walls fall, and I broke down hard,” Phoebe admitted. “Having the memories of both your deaths, plus feeling responsible for them both, finally overcame me. Piper comforted me again, but I decided that the best way to fix things was to come back here as a watcher to get some closure. Paige volunteered to come with me, but Leo interfered at the last minute, which stuck us in the past to relive things permanently. We changed the things that we knew were not meant to happen.”

“And I went to the Elders and told them about everything while you were setting up your trap for Shax. They decided that Paige has earned the right to keep her powers, and because she was never made a Charmed One in this timeline, she will not pose a danger to you or your powers. If Piper and I have any children, we will be allowed to keep them, though in somewhat of a test capacity, to determine whether or not it’s safe to have witchlighter children. The Source will probably think twice before attacking again but he will come back.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing we have the Power of Four on our side,” Prue announced, pulling Paige into a hug. “Welcome to the family, sis.”

Piper hugged Phoebe. “If you ever need to talk about what happened before, you know I’m here for you, right?” she whispered.

“I know, Piper.” Phoebe hugged Piper back even more tightly.

“Let the demons come,” Paige challenged. “We’ll kick them back to the Underworld. The Source will never win.”