Warning: This story deals with rape.

Timeline: Leo and Piper are getting married. Cole's back, but only Phoebe knows. He's given up trying to kill the sisters and is trying to be good for Phoebe. Prue is currently boyfriend-less.

Obsession

A Round Robin by the people at the CFS Fan Fiction Board

Phoebe slowly walked down the steps into the mausoleum. She didn't know why she was there, she had told herself that she wouldn't come back. Yet here she was.

"I didn't think I'd see you so soon," Cole said, appearing.

"Neither did I," Phoebe said nervously.

"You need more help? Are your sisters in trouble again?" Cole asked. Phoebe thought she heard a tinge of bitterness in his voice, but wasn't sure.

"No, I, umm . . ."

"You?" Cole prompted.

"I - "

Suddenly she couldn't contain herself any longer. She practically pounced on Cole and started kissing him passionately.

'Damn,' she thought. 'I really have to learn to control myself more.'

~*~

Leo orbed into the room. Piper, who had been feeling paranoid and guilty for the last bit, jumped up and demanded, "Is something wrong?"

~*~

Prue was in the dark room at her work. Usually she had to do everything at home, but the room had recently been fixed so Prue was trying it out. So far no light had got in.

Until someone entered.

Prue looked up. She was angry that someone had walked in. The light outside was on, meaning no one was allowed in.

The person closed the door and descended down the stairs.

Prue couldn't tell who it was just yet.

Then they stepped into the red light that Prue worked under.

Prue gasped. It was him...

~*~

"You!" Prue almost shouted.

"I’ve missed you," the man told her. Yeah, he thought, I miss you in bed!

"Get the hell out of here! I know you’ve been following me around! Ever since I dumped your sorry ass!" she yelled at the man.

"Prue. You will be mine. No matter what. I love you and nothing will ever stop that!" Prue shivered she had a bad feeling about this. "Now come on…" He said stroking the side of her face.

Prue backed up. "No!" She told him. His armed shot out and grabbed her. Prue yelped in pain. She was about to scream when he put a cloth soaked in chloroform over her mouth. Prue tried to struggle but she soon went in to a dreamless sleep.

Roger smiled. Prue was His. The eldest of The Charmed Ones was His and he wasn’t going let anybody away from him.

~*~

"Piper what is wrong?" Leo asked her.

"I’m pregnant" she whispered.

Leo smiled. "I’m going to be a daddy?"

Piper jumped up and said, "Yes! Yes! You are!" Leo and Piper kissed and kissed again.

~*~

Prue woke up. Her head ached. She looked around. She was ling in a bed. She was in a room. Prue gasped in shock. The room she was in was … a cage.

~*~

Phoebe came home from school and dropped her bag by the door. She was starving! She had left her purse and money in her room and so she couldn't buy any lunch. She went straight to the fridge and grabbed sandwich stuff. She made her sandwich and was going to carry it to the living room when she noticed the door to the darkroom was slightly open but the 'do not disturb' light was still on.

Phoebe opened the door and peeked in. Prue was no where in sight. Phoebe shrugged and went in to turn off the light. She noticed one of Prue's cameras had been dropped and smashed. Prue usually took tremendous care of her equipment, Phoebe thought that was very odd.

~*~

Prue was sitting back against the cold bars when she heard footsteps. She jumped up quickly to be on the defensive. She had already tried using her powers on the cage but it was useless, there was some type of magic preventing her from doing so.

The footsteps seemed to be getting closer. Prue calmly paced back and forth within the cage awaiting the owner of the footsteps.

~*~

Phoebe finished her sandwich and went back into the sitting room, Piper and Leo were there. They both greeted her. Phoebe cocked her head slightly and asked, "Have either of you seen Prue?"

"Yeah, she's in the darkroom." Piper answered.

"No she's not. I just checked, but the light was on and the door was open." Phoebe replied.

"She never leaves the door open when she's working, the light would ruin the film." Piper commented

"I know," Phoebe muttered. Now she was really curious what was going on.

~*~

Phoebe look oh-so-casually in the direction of the darkroom, a plan forming in her mind. "Uh, Piper?" she asked, casually, "I'm just gonna go....out. You know, get the paper."

Piper nodded. "If you see Prue, come back."

Phoebe nodded and crept into the darkroom, hoping Piper didn't see her.

~*~

"Prudence," said the person softly. "I am here."

"Piss off!!" she said, coldly. "I don't want you here."

"Oh, but you do. You just don't know it yet," he whispered, grabbing her hand.

That was when someone slammed the door open....

~*~

A man walked in. He was pushing one of those tables with the wheels on it. He pushed it up to Prue and Roger. Then he took off the silver tops to the plates. "Thank you James."  James left. 

"Eat," Roger told Prue. 

Prue stared at her food. It was tenderloin, mashed potatoes, peas, and green beans. It did look good. 

Roger sighed, "I know you’re mad but I promise there is nothing wrong with the food. You don’t want to stave? Do you?" 

Prue hesitated and picked up her fork. 

Roger smirked. "Just what I thought!"

~*~

Phoebe was in the basement investigating. She looked through Prue cameras, photos, and pretty much every thing else. She sighed and was about to go up stairs. When she noticed there was a cloth on the floor. She picked it up and realized it was damp. She suddenly remembered something. When Prue got kidnapped by Bane she found a damp cloth too! But that would mean… "Piper!! Leo!!" Phoebe yelled. "We have a problem."

~*~

Prue and Roger were done with supper. Roger torched a little button in side the room. He turned to Prue and said, "If you ever need anything push this button."

James entered the room with a box. He handed it to Roger and took the table and left the room. Roger smiled and handed Prue the box. "Open it," he urged. Prue hesitated. But opened it. She gasped with disgust. It was a short silky red nightgown. "Put it on," Roger demanded.

"No" Prue spoke for the first time in along time. Roger sighed and snapped his fingers.

The nightgown disappeared out of the box and it was now on Prue. Roger smiled evilly. "It looks nice…I knew it would."

Prue looked up with disgust. "Screw you!" she practically yelled.

Roger grinned evilly. "Gladly."

Prue had a sudden chill came up her spine. It was sheer terror.

~*~

"What is it, Phoebe?" Piper asked, as she and Leo came bounding down the stairs. Phoebe's cry had frightened them.

Phoebe stood in the dark room, looking very pale. "I think something's happened to Prue," she said.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

Phoebe held up a cloth. "I found this on the floor. It's damp. It reminded me of the time Bane kidnapped Prue. You guys, I think someone took Prue."

Piper felt the blood drain from her face. "What? Who could've done that?"

"I don't know," Phoebe said helplessly. "But we have to help her."

Piper turned to her fiancé. "Leo," she started, but the whitelighter seemed to read her mind.

"I'll go see what the Elders know," he said. He kissed Piper on the cheek before orbing up.

"Don't worry, Phoebe," Piper said. "We'll figure it out. Prue will be fine." She said it as much for her benefit as for Phoebe's.

~*~

Prue looked at Roger with fear in her eyes as he slowly advanced towards her.

"Gladly Prue....that is, if you insist...which you did..." he said with a mischievously evil grin erupting from the corners of his mouth.

"I've decided....that this dress would look even better off of you..." he said, slowly lifting up her dress as Prue stood in shock, almost paralyzed from doing anything as he continued to touch her while taking off her dress....

~*~

"Where is he?" Phoebe asked, impatiently.

"Phoebe, calm down, he's only been gone for a minute." Piper said soothing her.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, but I'm just so worried about Prue. I mean, what if she's been beaten, or even raped...or worse yet, what if she's dead?" Phoebe said, almost whispering the last part as more color faded from her already pale face. Pale from worry, worry that they might never see their sister again...

"Phoebe!" Piper said in a sharp, sad tone, "don't talk like that, please. Let's just hope she's okay, for her sake .... and ours too."

~*~

Piper and Phoebe were in the attic looking through the BOS. "I can’t find anything!" Phoebe yelled, annoyed she couldn’t do anything to help her big sister.

Piper walked up to Phoebe and gave her a hug. "It’s going to be okay…"

Leo orbed in. "Leo what do you know? Is Prue okay?"

Leo shook his head. "They don’t know anything! Something is blocking her from them!"

Piper sighed. "Do you think another warlock tricked her into marrying him?"

Leo shook his head again. "No you would start turning evil again."

Phoebe was holding the cloth trying to get a premonition. Suddenly Phoebe’s world became black and white:

Prue developing photos

A man walking in.

Prue and the man arguing.

The man putting a cloth on Prue’s mouth.

The man blinking out with Prue in his arms.


Phoebe gasped. "Phoebe what did you see?" Piper asked.

Phoebe took a deep breath "Prue getting kidnapped."

~*~

Prue woke up. Her head pounded. She was in the bed that was in the room. She couldn’t remember anything. But it soon came back to her like a fright train going 100 miles an hour. She looked down she was back in the red dress but it was torn in a couple of different places. She heard the door open. A man walked in it was…James. He carried a box with a red cross on it, Prue started to back up, but she started to cry in pain. Her ribs felt like they were going to explode.

Prue started to cry harder when she felt James touch her sides, she tried to squirm, but James stopped her. "If you move it will hurt even more. Master Roger sent me in here to fix you up. By the looks of it you…have..3 broken ribs…and some bruising," he told her softly. James fixed her up and left the room. Prue started to sob. Never in her life she needed, Phoebe, Leo, and Piper more.

~*~

The day passed slowly. Through the darkness of her cage, Prudence sobbed in despair.

A rattling in the doorway brought her out of her thoughts. She could hear the sound of his footsteps approach slowly. Methodically, he came closer, hesitating only once a few away.

Prue looked up into the menacing visage that stood before her. Prue rarely felt fear, but there was something different here as she stared into the face of pure hatred.

"How is my precious Prue?" Roger sneered. "You know it really is a shame, my poor Prudence. If you would only cooperate what little time we have together would be more pleasant." Moving closer, he pressed his body upon to the case.

Slowed by her injuries, Prue fail to move away as his hand reached out and grabbed the nap of her neck. With precision, his fingers pressed on the jugular of both sides of her neck. As she struggled, the pressure became tighter.

Without releasing his hold, he opened the door to the cage and entered. Seeing her opportunity, Prue lunged forward, trying to escape. For her efforts, she was rewarded with a fist to front of her face. The momentum of the hit propelled her backwards. Tripping she landed on her back. Seizing the opportunity, Roger plunged his body on top of hers. Taking her neck in a strangle hold, he begin to choke her.

"Why are you doing this?" Prue gasped. She was feeling dizzy and lightheaded, as she became oxygen deprived.

"Did you really think you would be able get away with killing me?" he taunted her. Releasing one hand from her neck, he reached out and he touched the side of her face. His fingers traveled slowly down her neck, pass her slender shoulders, until finally resting on a bruise that lie on her left side right below her rib. Grabbing tightly, he squeezed. The intensity of the pain caused Prue to pass out.

Tapping her face gently, Roger pulled her back to the reality of the cage. "Come on, Prue, you can’t leave me yet. We have a lot more fun in store for us."

~*~

"You saw Prue getting kidnapped? What happened?" Piper asked Phoebe impatiently.

"I saw her in the dark room. Then a man came there. And they were arguing. Then he grabbed her and put this cloth over her mouth. Then he blinked out," Phoebe told them.

Leo then spoke up, "So we know it’s a warlock, and he wants her alive for something."

Phoebe shook her head, "Yes. But what does he want? By now he would've told something, if wanted our powers!"

Leo sighed. He didn’t like this. Phoebe was right. Whoever this was wanted something more. But what?

Phoebe spoke up, "The guy I saw with Prue looked really familiar."

Piper looked at her, "What do you mean?"

Phoebe paused, "Well in my premonition they looked like they were arguing. So that would mean she knew him." Phoebe turned and started to walk out the door.

"Where are you going?" Piper asked her little sister.

"I’m going to Prue’s room. Maybe I can find some clues."

Leo and Piper looked at each other. "We’ll come too," they both called as they followed Phoebe in Prue’s room.

~*~

Prue was slowly coming to. When she was completely awake the first thing she saw was Roger’s face. His hands reaching down to her upper arms. Before Prue could even struggle Roger grabbed her and partially threw her on the bed. Prue couldn’t even react, because Roger was on top of her so quickly, and he was ripping off her dress….

~*~

Phoebe, Piper, and Leo were looking around Prue’s room. Phoebe looked in the middle drawer of Prue’s makeup table. She picked up a book opened to the page that had a dried flower in it and stated to read:


February 19, 2001

Dear Diary,

I’m getting really freaked out! Roger keeps on calling me, writing me "love" notes, telling me he wants me back. He even follows me! I don’t Phoebe or Piper have noticed. I wish they would. I want to tell them. But what if I’m being paranoid?

Even though today he sent me a letter saying no matter what he have me. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I think I’ll talk to Darryl today. Maybe I can get a restraining order or something? I’ll go talk to him after I get my photos developed.

Love,
Prue


Phoebe shut the book stunned. She couldn’t believe what she just read. Would that mean Roger kidnapped her? "Piper, Leo I think I know who did it." Phoebe picked up Prue’s diary again. And was suddenly pushed in a premonition.

She saw Prue in a room size cage.

Someone jumping on top of her.

Prue screaming.

The man hitting her.

Phoebe snapped out of her premonition and started to cry. "He’s hurting her!" she yelled as she sobbed. Why did she have to see her big sister getting raped?

She felt Piper taking her in her arms. Phoebe saw Piper’s lips moving, but she couldn’t hear anything.

~*~

Prue kept trying to push Roger off of her but he would ether punch or hit her. Prue kept crying and screaming hoping someone would come and rescue her. But she knew that wouldn’t happen. So she gave up and just lay on the bed.

Phoebe slowly opened her eyes. She passed out because her premonition was too strong for her. Piper looked down on her. "Phoebe? Phoebe are you okay? What did you see?"

Phoebe sat up. She took a deep breath. "I saw Prue. And Roger…"

Piper interrupted her "You saw Roger? So he is the one who kidnapped her."

Phoebe nodded weakly. "Yes. But I saw him…I saw him raping her." She told Piper and Leo. Piper and Leo looked at each other. They both knew it has gone bad to worse.

~*~

Prue was sitting on her bed still trembling and crying. Roger finally left. He gave her new clothes. The red dress he gave was completely ripped apart. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be with her family. But it seemed impossible.

~*~

Phoebe, Piper, and Leo were in the living room trying to figure out what to do. Phoebe was still very shaken up. Phoebe looked at Leo, "What are we supposed to do? If we can’t find her? We can’t leave her there!"

Leo took her hand. "It’s going to be okay. We are going to find her."

Phoebe stood up. "I’m going to the bathroom."

Phoebe walked in the bathroom. "Cole," she whispered. "Cole please come if you can hear me."

Cole shimmered in. "Phoebe what’s wrong? Have been crying?" he asked when he saw that her eyes were red and puffy.

"Prue was kidnapped and the man who kidnapped her was raping her. I had a premonition," Phoebe said very quickly.

As if reading her mind Cole told her, "I’ll see what I can do."

He shimmered out. Phoebe collapsed on the floor crying.

~*~

More than anything, Phoebe hated feeling hopeless. She was feeling pretty hopeless right now. There was nothing to do, nothing she could do. Her oldest sister had been kidnapped, was being raped, and all she could do was twiddle her thumbs and hope for the best.

Doing nothing really sucked.

Cole shimmered in and Phoebe leapt to her feet. "Did you find anything?" she demanded.

Concern was etched on her boyfriend's face. Definitely not a good sign. "I asked around. Word is, a warlock has her. But it's not about the power of three this time, or anything like that. It's personal. He's not quite there, if you know what I mean." Cole twirled his finger by his head, making the universal signal for saying the guy was loony.

"Roger," Phoebe all but whispered.

"What?" Cole frowned.

"The warlock is Roger," she said, a little louder this time.

"You know him then." It was almost a question, but not quite.

"He and Prue . . . used to be together," she explained.

Cole lifted his eyebrows, but said nothing. Phoebe knew he was probably wondering just how often the Halliwell's got involved with supernatural guys, especially the evil ones. Hell, she was starting to wonder as well. It was a horrible pattern in the Charmed Ones life.

"Is that all?" Phoebe didn't mean to sound ungrateful, but Cole was her last hope. If he didn't have anymore information about Prue, then she didn't know how they could ever save her sister.

Luckily, Cole shook his head. "I have an address."

Elation filled Phoebe. She should have known the feeling was too good to last. It fled just as quickly when her bedroom door opened and Piper and Leo came in.

Piper had been saying, "Phoebe? Are you all right? You've been up here for hours. Maybe you should - " She cut herself off when she saw Cole. "What's he doing here?" she demanded, pointing at the half-demon.

Cole winced. "Piper, Leo," he said with exaggerated cheerfulness. "Long time. How're you doing?"

"Phoebe," Piper yelled, ignoring Cole. "What is he doing here."

"Cole is here to help us," Phoebe said.

Piper laughed. "Help?" she said incredulously. "Are you forgetting who we're talking about here? He's probably in league with Roger. And since when was he been back! You said you hadn't seen him since you vanquished him! Or were you lying about that, too?"

Leo broke in here. "Maybe I should . . . " he was edging away from the fighting sisters and pointing towards the door. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Stay," Piper barked, not looking away from Phoebe.

The look on Cole's face was identical to Leo's, so Phoebe coldly told him, "You're not going anywhere."

Both men, being smart enough to know that there are certain times when you never, ever cross a woman and that this was one of them, obediently stayed put.

"He came back yesterday!" Phoebe yelled, going back to the argument. "I haven't had the chance to tell you yet. It's not like we've had all the free time in the world. I was too busy worrying about Prue to remember to tell you about Cole."

"That's no excuse!" Piper told her. "And speaking of Prue, why are you taking the time to make out with your demon boyfriend if you're so worried about her?"

"I wasn't making out with him," Phoebe retorted. "I was trying to find Prue! He asked around. We know where she is."

"What?" This time it was Leo who spoke. "You know where Prue is?"

Phoebe nodded, suddenly feeling deflated. Arguing with her sister took a lot out of her. "Yes. We know where Prue is," she said, much more calmly.

"Well, come on," Leo said. "We should go."

Piper still looked doubtful, but the idea of being able to save Prue and put aside most of her feelings of mistrust towards Cole. She glared at the half-demon. "If this is all some trick," she warned, "you are going to live to regret it." She twirled around and stalked out of the room.

~*~

Prue was sitting in the corner of the cage trembling and crying. She had a blanket draped over her shoulders to keep her warm. She heard the door open she started to cry harder in fear it would be Roger. But it was James.

"Are you okay miss?" he asked her softly.

"Does it look like I’m okay? And why would you care?" Prue snapped.

"I guess I deserve that. But you must under stand I don’t want to be here! I want to leave as much as you do!" he said in Irish accent.

"What do you mean?" Prue asked as she lifted her head showing many bruises and cuts.

"I’m a slave. And I to have magical powers, you see I’m a leprechaun."

Prue looked at him, "A leprechaun? But you’re not short or wearing green or…"

James cut her off, "And you're not an ugly witch with a pointy hat and warts!"

Prue stared at him, "So how did you end up here?"

James smiled. "Well…."

~*~

Piper, Phoebe, Leo, and Cole were trying to find away to get Prue away from Roger.

"I got an idea. But you guys have to trust me." Cole finally spoke up.

They all looked at each other. "What’s the plan?" Leo asked.

"Let me go get her." Cole told them.

~*~

"What? They all stared at Cole very confused.

"Let me get her," he said softly.

What makes you so sure she will come back? Also how are you going to save her?" Piper asked.

"Well, if he is using magic I can shimmer in there and get the key and shimmer out with her."

"Remember honey, Prue doesn't trust you. What makes you so sure she will go with you?" asked Phoebe.

"Well one of you go with me and then she will have to believe me," Cole said.

I should go in case I need to use my powers," said Piper.

"Okay, but you have to hold my hand."

"Don't try to steal my man or I will come after you," Phoebe said, half-joking.

"Oh, I have my own sweet and loving guy and he is all mine." Piper walked over and gave Leo a kiss, then walked to Cole and held his hand.

~*~

Meanwhile Prue and James were talking in the room.

"He kidnapped my sweetheart and to get her back I had to be his slave," James said.

Prue asked, "Is there any way to get you freedom?"

"Well, there is a way. He has to drop a cloth to me and if I catch it, I get my freedom and wife. He had put a spell on me so I can't use my powers."

"Oh well, I am here because he was in love with me and after I dumped him he began stalking me," Prue said. "Well, after I dumped him, he wouldn't give up so I was in my lab and he took me."

"Well, I don't know where the key is, but I can try to help you," James offered.

"No," Prue said, "he might try to hurt your wife. My sisters will help me." Just then Piper and Cole shimmered in.

"Wow, I could never get used to that," Piper said.

"James, this is Cole and my sister Piper," Prue said.

"Nice to meet you. I don't mean to be rude but how did you get here?" asked James.

Piper answered, "Well Cole had some idea to save you and since you don't trust him, I came too, in case you needed an active power."

"Well you power won't work, he should be coming in after a while," said Prue.

"Well Prue, is there some way to open the cage?" Cole asked.

"I think there is a key, but he keeps it with him. James tends to him. James have you heard him talk about a key?" asked Prue.

"Well, yeah, it is in a bottle that he keeps with him." Just then footsteps could be heard coming towards the door. They all looked for a place to hide.

"Well hide behind my cage, try to lay down flat and as close as possible to the cage. Don't look up for anything, even if I am getting hurt." Piper and Cole ran to the back of the cage and lay down flat. Unfortunately, they had to lie very close to each other.

"If I have to have you really close, then you swear no funny business," said Piper.

"I love your sister not you," Cole said. "Don't you trust me?"

"I do, but lets not tell our lovers the truth. Agreed?" Piper asked.

Cole said, "Agreed." They shook hands and bundle close to each other.

James went to the curtains and hid behind them. They came closer and closer. All of their hearts were pounding in their chests. The door opened and in walked Roger.

"Prue," he said, "I thought I heard voices, like one of your sisters."

"No," Prue said, "just talking to myself."

Roger looked around and spotted some feet. He went over to the side and Prue followed him, her heart feeling like it was caught in her throat. He looked around and saw a girl hiding behind the cage. He recognized her immediately as Piper.

Roger picked her up and tied her hands behind her back.

He said, "Well Prue you will be punished for lying. Got anymore hiding?"

"No, I don't, just don't punish her, punish me," Prue begged.

"I intend to do both," Roger said. He then threw her into the cage and locked the door. Prue ran over to Piper and hugged her.

"You untie her, and you will be beaten severely. Got it?" Roger threatened.

They both nodded, then he walked out the door. James came out and saw them hugging. "I will try to find the key. I am sorry he got your sister, but at least you will have someone to talk to."

They sat on the bed and try to formulate a plan to get them and James free.

~*~

Cole waited almost an entire minute before coming out of hiding, to be on the safe side. "Well, you did a remarkably lack of fighting," he said in disgust to Piper.

"I panicked," she groused. "I froze. So sue me."

Prue rose to her feet, still ready to defend her sisters, even after everything she had been through. Cole got a good look at her. She looked awful. "And what happened to you?" she demanded.

"I was trying to make sure all of us weren't caught," Cole replied.

"You were hiding," Prue snorted.

"Yes," Cole said calmly, "I was." The locked eyes, but Cole was the first to give up their battle of wills. It was neither the time nor the place. "What do you know about that cage?" he asked.

Prue and Piper exchanged a puzzled look. "It's a cage." Prue's voice rose at the end of the sentence, making it seem like she was almost asking a question. "It has a lock and a key and it keeps us from getting out."

Cole rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant. Do you know if Roger has any supernatural protections around it?"

"What do you mean?" Piper asked.

"I mean, is there anything to stop people from shimmering in and out?" Cole asked.

Prue looked at him thoughtfully. "I don't think so," she said.

Cole probed the area. There didn't seem to be anything, but those types of things could be well hidden. He decided to take a risk anyway. The chances, after all, of Roger expecting a demon to shimmer the girls out of there were very small. He shimmered in.

"It worked," he commented, looking around the inside of the cage. "Now, are you ready?"

Piper stood up and walked over. "Yeah, I'm ready to get the hell out of here." Cole held out his hand and she took it.

"Wait!" Prue cried. "We can't go yet."

"Why not?" Cole asked wearily.

"What about James?"

"What about him?"

"We can't just leave him here!" Prue exclaimed. "We promised to help him."

Cole sighed. Sometimes this 'doing it for the greater good' thing could get really annoying. "How can we help him from inside of this cage?" he asked.

"We can always leave now and come back later to help him," Piper suggested.

"If he doesn't come to us first," Cole added. At the girls' quizzical looks, he explained, "Roger came after you once, Prue, do you really think he isn't going to do the same a second time?"

Prue looked shaken. Cole went over and grabbed her hand. He didn't miss how she flinched. Obviously she wasn't holding up nearly as much as she was letting on. He wasn't surprised, after all that she went through. He just hoped her front would hold and she wouldn't break down until after they had dealt with Roger.

Normally, he would have teased Prue by slinging his arm around her shoulder, or something, but now was not the time. He just grabbed her hand tightly and the three of them shimmered back to the Halliwell Manor, where Phoebe and Leo were waiting for them.

~*~

Phoebe ran to her big sister and gave her a hug. "Prue! I was so worried."

Prue could barely breath. "Phoebe, honey you’re hurting me!" Prue finally manage to say.

Phoebe stepped back now acutely looking at her big sister. Oh my… was all really could think when she saw her sister’s face and arms. They had bruises and cuts.

"Leo! Heal her!" Piper almost demanded.

Leo led Prue to the couch and told her to lie down. Then he put his hands over her. Cole looked at them while a dotty glow went over Prue’s body, making all her wounds go away. Well, not all of them…. Cole knew what happened with Roger would haunt Prue forever.

Phoebe came close to Cole and gave him a hug. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear. "Thank you so much!" Phoebe knew now she loved Cole, more than any other man she had ever dated. She would be forever grateful for what he had done.

Prue got up and started to go up stairs. "Prue, where are you going?" Leo asked.

"I’m getting the book," was all she said.

Leo was very worried about her. She didn’t cry or anything. That was not healthy. He knew he had to try to get her to open up to them. He knew if she didn’t it would slowly, painfully destroy her.

~*~

Roger walked in the cage with a smile on his face. "Are you ready Prue, and Piper are you ready to watch your sister suffer?" Roger’s smile faded. The cage was empty. "Were the hell are they?" he roared. Roger was outraged, but he was going to get Prue back.

~*~

Roger sat in the room with the cage thinking up a plan to get Prue.

"I will make a spell on the cage that way they can't use magic to get out," he said. "Also, I will capture one of her sisters ands use her as bait to lure Prue in here and make a deal. I will only return her sister if she promises to be my wife."

He looked in a book and finally came to a page. He read the spell and while pointing to the cage, said the spell out loud. There is a glow around the cage, which left as quickly as it came.

"There, now the prisoner won't get out," he thought to himself.

He blinked to the manor. Piper was reading a book in the sunroom while the others had followed Prue upstairs. He came up behind her and suddenly he placed a cloth with chloroform over her mouth. Piper tried to freeze him, but she couldn't see straight and froze the book instead. She tried to struggle, but she became weak and a few minutes later her body went limp.

Roger left the cloth there and blinked her in the room. He then brought her into the cage and tied her hands and ankles together.

An hour later she woke up and looked around, seeing the same room she was in before and looked down and saw her hands and ankles were tied. Also she was gagged.

~*~

Back at the manor, a few minutes after Roger left with Piper, Phoebe, Prue, Leo and Cole came downstairs and called Piper. When there is no response they looked into the sunroom and found her book laying on the couch and a piece of cloth on the couch. Phoebe touched it and her world turned black and white and she saw what happened to Piper.

Piper reading. Roger suddenly coming in. Piper trying to freeze him. But he places a cloth on Piper’s face to make her pass out. Then Roger blinks out with her.

"Phoebe? What did you see?" Prue asked.

"Piper. Getting kidnapped by Roger."

Prue’s heart stopped. This was all her fault.

"Prue? Are you okay?" Phoebe was concerned about her sister when she saw how pale she was.

"Why would he take her?" Phoebe hugged her big sister. "I don’t know. Maybe to lure you."

Prue hugged her baby sister back. "We better tell Leo and Cole." Prue said.

~*~

Back by Piper and Roger…

"You see Piper, you are the key to get Prue to me, so she can be mine forever!"

Piper looked pissed, "Mmmmmmmmppppphhhhh," was all that came out of her mouth.

Roger grinned evilly and left the room.

~*~

Prue, Phoebe, Leo, and Cole were driving to address Cole had gotten before. Cole was driving, Phoebe was next to him and Leo and Prue were in back.

"Prue?" Leo asked her very softly.

"Yeah," Prue replied staring out the window.

"You have to talk to your sisters. You have to face what happened to you sooner or later. You do know that Phoebe had a premonition and they know what he did to you," Leo told her with his voice still soft.

Prue looked at Leo trying not to cry. "We can’t worry about me right now. We need to worry about Piper," Prue told him, her vision blurry from tears welling up.

Leo looked at her. He had never seen someone try to be so strong for her sisters.

The car stopped. Prue looked out the window. They were at an old abandon warehouse. Prue recognized it. When she worked at the museum stuff would sometimes be dropped off. She knew they stopped using it.

"Here we are," Cole said. Cole, Phoebe and Leo got out of the car. Leo noticed Prue was trembling so he helped her out.

"So does anybody have a plan?" Phoebe asked.

"We go in there and get Piper out," was all Prue said as she opened the door. They walked in.

"It’s about time," a voice came out of a dark corner. "I thought you’d be here a lot sooner. Oh well," Roger said evilly.

"Where the hell is Piper?" Prue demanded.

"Ah Prudence, my precious Prudence, do you really think I’m going to give her to you just like that?"

Prue stared at him coldly, "Where’s my sister?" she demanded again.

Roger chuckled, "That’s what I like about you…Never give up. Well I’ll offer you a trade, you for her," Roger told Prue, evilness filled his voice.

"Done," Prue told him.

~*~

"Prue!" Phoebe protested. She tried to step forward, but Cole held her back.

"No, Phoebe," Prue said, looking over her shoulder at her youngest sister. "This is my fault. I'm not going to let Piper get hurt because of me."

Phoebe allowed herself to be pulled into Cole's arms, where she buried her head in his chest.

"Where's Piper?" Cole asked.

"Wait," Roger said. "She's not coming out until I safely have Prue."

"If you've hurt her . . . " Leo threatened.

"She's fine," Roger said, not even bothering to look at the angry whitelighter. He was too busy watching Prue, with an expression close to hunger. It was sickening to watch. He waited until she was close enough, then he grabbed her roughly. Prue whimpered involuntarily when Roger stuck a knife to her throat. Cole held Phoebe tighter. "Bring in Piper," Roger called out.

James appeared pushing a bound and gagged Piper in front of him.

"Piper!" Leo yelled, rushing to her. He quickly untied her hands and took the gag out of her mouth. "Are you okay?"

"Leave, now," Roger ordered, still holding the knife to Prue's throat.

"Prue," Piper said, horrified.

"Go," Prue told them.

"But Prue - " Piper protested.

"That was the deal," Leo told his fiancée softly. "You for Prue."

"We can't - "

"It was her choice," Cole cut in.

"Go, now," Roger said. Leo led Piper out, with Cole and Phoebe close behind them.

"I can't believe you!" Piper said. "How could you! He's going to kill her!"

Phoebe suddenly looked up and grinned. "Do you really think we'd let him away with that?"

"What?" Piper was confused. They reached the car. Prue was in the backseat, her head hanging.

"That wasn't the real Prue," Leo explained. "She astral projected."

"Did we fool ya?" Phoebe asked cheekily.

"I thought - "

"We'd never let that bastard get his hands on Prue again," Phoebe said, dead serious now.

"But we figured he'd know Prue would sacrifice herself for you," Cole added. "So we thought of a way to trick him into thinking he was actually getting her."

In the car, Prue woke up with a gasp. "Piper," she exclaimed, rushing out to hug her younger sister. "Are you all right?"

"Am I all right?" Piper demanded. "I'm fine. Are you all right?" She pulled back. "Don't ever do that to me again!" she yelled.

"Piper thought you really gave yourself up to the SOB," Phoebe explained.

"Not likely," Prue muttered. "But get ready, he's coming out, and boy, is he mad."

Just as Prue had predicted, Roger came bursting through the door suddenly. His face was red and he looked like he wanted to kill somebody. "You bitch!" he cried. "How dare you trick me?"

"It wasn't too hard," Prue said, egging him on. "You're not that smart, after all."

"Why, you - " His words were cut off when Prue sent him flying into the wall with her telekinesis.

"Now!" Prue exclaimed. Phoebe whipped out a piece of paper from her pocket and the sisters crowded around and started chanting.

"No, nooooo!" Roger held up his hand, trying to shield off the spell. It didn't work and he was vanquished in a burst of flames.

Prue looked at the remains of her ex-boyfriend with a satisfied look on her face. Phoebe looked at her, concerned, and ventured, "Are you okay, honey?"

"I'm fine," Prue said. Everyone exchanged a worried look, but Prue didn't notice. However, before anyone could comment, James came bursting through the door.

"You did it!" he exclaimed. "You vanquished him! You saved me! Thank you, so much!" He danced over and gave Prue a kiss on the cheek before disappearing in a gust of gold and green sparkles.

"We should probably get going," Cole said awkwardly. He just hoped they could get Prue back before she broke down.

The ride back was in silence, no one knowing what to say. When they reached the Manor, Cole pulled Phoebe to the side and said, "I'm going to get going. I don't think it's the best idea for me to be around Prue right now."

"But you aren't evil anymore," Phoebe protested. "Prue knows that. She knows you have nothing to do with - "

Cole put a finger to her lips, cutting her off. "That's not why I think I should go. Prue's been through a lot, and, well, I don't think she's going to appreciate any male company right now."

Phoebe realized what he was referring to, and looked down at her shoes.

"She'll be fine," Cole continued. "You and Piper will be there for her, after all. And," he hesitated, "if you need me for whatever reason, I'll be at the mausoleum."

"Thanks, Cole," Phoebe whispered sadly.

He kissed the top of her head and shimmered out.

"Leo was called away," Piper explained when Phoebe went into the other room and found only her sisters there.

"I see," Phoebe said. "Prue? How are you?"

"I'm fine," Prue reiterated, sounding slightly annoyed. She wouldn't meet their eyes, however.

"Hun, it's okay to be upset," Piper told her gently.

"I'm not upset," Prue insisted. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Phoebe wanted to know. "Because I wouldn't be, if I were in your position."

"I'm telling you, I'm fine. I'm - " Prue faltered.

"We're here for you, Prue," Piper said.

Prue cried. She didn't stop for a long time. The healing began. It would be okay, because the three sisters could get through anything, just as long as they had each other.

The End

Completed Sunday, March 18, 2001

Note from Trinity Day: This is a Round Robin, which is, for those of you who don't know, a story written by many people.  You'll notice it's not my normal Charmed fic, meaning mostly it's not entirely to do with Cole&Phoebe.  As a result, there are a few stylistic contrast, most of which I've tried to smooth out, and a few continuum bloopers.  I hope none are so bad that you got lost, and I hope you enjoyed the story.  We had lots of fun writing it and will be trying it again soon.