Third Time Charmed

Charmed Again (Part 3)

Sitting in the chair he used to occupy when he still considered himself a good father to his girls, Victor Bennett stared vacantly at the living room floor, where they once unwrapped Christmas gifts together as a family. Finally on good terms with his daughters and back in the house they had shared so long ago, he somehow felt further from them than ever.

His girls had "a destiny to fulfill", that's what their grandmother had always maintained, something that he couldn't change, no matter how much he wanted to. That was why he had allowed her to cut him out of their lives. His girls were special. He had always known that, but it wasn't because they could do magic.

Despite all the loss they had experienced, they were loving, caring, smart, beautiful young women. But now one of them was gone, his youngest daughter, Phoebe, the one who had fought to bring him back into their lives, and he wondered whether this loss might be too much for her sisters to bear.

Far too soon, Phoebe had been taken by evil, just like her mother before her, his wife, Patty. And once again, he had been powerless to stop it. All he could really do for Prue and Piper was to be strong for them today, be there for them when they needed him. If they needed him. Was it too late to act like a father now? Without Phoebe, would they let him?

Victor shook his grey head, absent-mindedly brushing a piece of lint from his new pants. He had prayed the day would never come when he would have to buy a black suit to wear at the funeral of one of his girls. Now, here he was, waiting to leave for the cemetery. Waiting alone, he noted.

Piper was still upstairs, getting ready, or so Leo said. As for Prue? Well, she was God knows where, doing God knows wha—"Argh!" Victor cried.

As if responding to the man's thought, a leather-clad Prue had appeared before her father, rippling out of thin air, holding Cole's hand, which she immediately yanked from his grip. "We could have taken them!" she yelled as Leo entered the room at a jog.

"There were too many," Cole argued, his tone ringing with impatience.

"Maybe for the mighty Belthazor, but I can handle myself, thank you very much! I'm not giving up. The plan worked once. It can work again."

"Look who's back," sighed Leo. "We were afraid you weren't going to make it in time."

"Dad, hi," said Prue in a considerably softer tone, finally acknowledging that there were other people present, and leaning down to hug her father.

"Is everything okay?" Victor asked, getting to his feet, looking confused and a little shaken. "You about gave me a heart attack. And what are you wearing?"

"Everything's fine, Dad. Don't worry, I'm going to change," she assured him, longing to be rid of the sulfurous fumes of the Underworld that clung to her hunting attire, "and of course we made it, Leo." She'd been a little short with him lately, not because she blamed him for what happened to Phoebe, like she felt sure Piper still did, at least in part, but because she blamed the Elders he represented. On top of that, seeing the man in a suit, instead of his signature flannel and blue jeans, was a little jarring.

"Well, I can't make it," said Cole. "Or shouldn't. The Source has marked me as a traitor. He's got every demonic bounty hunter out there looking for me, and I don't want them finding me at Phoebe's funeral."

"God, you're so dramatic," Prue jabbed, rolling her eyes. "If anything, Zotars will be avoiding you now that they know why we've been hunting them, and isn't it supposed to be harder to track a demon in a cemetery? Besides, we can protect you if it comes to that."

"You can't protect me," Cole said with a noiseless chuckle.

"Excuse me? We're still witches, Cole."

"Yeah, but you're not the Charmed Ones anymore."