03x03 - Once Upon A time

[Kris2782]

[Scene: P3. The club is full of people. Piper is at the bar. Leo walks up to her. She smiles.]

Piper: I knew you'd come back.

Leo: Piper...

Piper: Phoebe was worried, Prue was a wreck, but I knew you'd find a way.

Leo: We need to talk.

Piper: Leo, you haven't kissed me in over a week. Don't you think maybe that takes priority?

(She walks around the bar and kisses Leo.)

Leo: I came to say goodbye.

Piper: What?

Leo: They told us to break up. They caught us trying to get married.

Piper: So we won't get married, we'll wait.

Leo: (his voice echoing) It's too late, we broke the rules and now they won't let us see each other again.

Piper: Wait a minute, they won't what?

Leo: I don't care what they do to me but I couldn't bare anything happening to you. I shouldn't even be here right now.

(He starts backing away.)

Piper: Wait a minute, Leo, I can't here you. What are you saying?

Leo: You have to forget about me.

Piper: No. (Leo mouths "I love you" to her. He orbs out and everyone dancing stops and looks at Piper.) Leo. Leo!

(Prue runs over to Piper and shakes her.)

Prue: Piper. Piper, wake up. Piper.

[Cut to Piper's bedroom. Prue's there trying to wake Piper up. Piper sits up.)

Piper: Leo's not coming back.

Prue: Honey, it was just a bad dream.

(Piper starts crying.)

Piper: No, it wasn't, it was real. I don't understand why they are doing this to us? It's like destroying lives is how they amuse themselves.

Prue: Piper, watch what you say.

Piper: Why? What are they gonna do to me? They couldn't hurt me more then they already have.

(They hug.)

[Cut to Phoebe in Prue's car. She has the stereo up loud. Her phone rings and she answers it.]

Phoebe: Don't you just love cell phones?

Prue: Hey, uh, it's me.

Phoebe: It's amazing how much stress you can project with so few words, Prue. I will have your precious car home momentarily.

Prue: Phoebe, I am not calling about the car, I'm calling about Piper. Look, um, she had this dream about Leo and maybe I'm overreacting but I've never seen her like this. It-it's like she's completely given up.

Phoebe: What kind of dream about Leoooo! (She slams on the brakes to avoid a little girl standing on the road.) I'm fine, car's fine. I'll see you later. Bye. (She hangs up, gets out of the car and runs over to the girl. She is clutching onto a small box.) Hi, are you okay?

Girl: You can't have it, leave me alone, I won't give it to you, leave me alone!

(Phoebe looks to see what she is yelling at but sees nothing. The girl runs away and Phoebe runs after her. The girl trips over. She hears voices and something invisible scratches her arm. She screams. Phoebe kneels down next to her and holds her.)

Phoebe: It's okay, it's okay. You're safe.

Opening Credits

[Scene: Manor. Kitchen. Phoebe and the girl (Kate) are there. Kate's sitting at the table still holding the box. Phoebe places a cup hot chocolate and a plate of cookies on the table.]

Phoebe: Okay, you just have to be very careful because it's hot, so blow on it, okay?

(Prue and Piper stand at the doorway.)

Prue: Hey, did you find out anything more from her?

Phoebe: Name rank and serial number.

Piper: Uh, her parents are on their way, they live up the street. (to Kate) They were very worried about you.

Phoebe: I gotta go to the car and get her jacket. (She walks over to the key hook.) Uh, keys?

Prue: What?

Phoebe: You know, silver shiny things that go jingle jingle.

Prue: I don't have them.

Phoebe: That's so weird. I put them up here.

Kate: The fairies probably hid them.

Phoebe: What was that?

Kate: Sorry, I'm not supposed to talk about fairies.

Phoebe: Um, you know what? In this house you can talk about anything you want. Sometimes we talk about weird things too.

Kate: Well, that's what fairies do. Hide your keys and things. They're tricky like that.

Phoebe: Um, is that what's in that box? Is it a fairy? Is that who you're protecting?

(The doorbell rings. Prue goes to answer it.)

Piper: That's probably your mum and your dad.

Kate: He's not my dad. He's just my mum's new husband.

[Cut to the foyer. Prue opens the door.]

Kate's Mum: Hi, we're Kate's parents.

Kate's Step dad: Is she alright?

Prue: Yeah, she's fine. I mean, she scraped her arm a little bit but mostly she's just scared.

(Piper, Phoebe and Kate walk in the foyer.)

Kate's Step Dad: Kate.

Kate: Get out of the doorway.

Kate's Mum: Kate...

Kate: It stays in the tween, get out of the in between.

Phoebe: What's an in between?

Kate: It's where the trolls are.

Kate's Mum: Honey, we've had this conversation before. You're a big girl and it's time to stop believing in things like that. She's had some problems since her father and I divorced. Regressed sort of back to the imaginary friend stage.

Kate's Step Dad: Look, uh, we should go, it's late. Thank you again for everything.

Kate: They'll get us.

Kate's Step Dad: I won't let them. It's okay.

(He picks up Kate and she sees a troll hanging onto the door frame.)

Kate: Look, there it is.

(Kate's step dad carries her outside.)

Kate's Mum: Thank you.

Prue: Your welcome.

(She leaves.)

[Time lapse. Prue, Piper and Phoebe are in the kitchen. Piper's making some coffee.]

Piper: Come on, Phoebe, trolls and fairies? You don't believe that stuff.

Phoebe: Sure, why not?

Piper: Well, maybe it's time we tell her about Santa.

Phoebe: All I know is something was definitely after her.

Piper: But you didn't see anything?

Phoebe: No, but how else did she get hurt?

Piper: How about she fell down and scratched herself.

Phoebe: No, Piper, they weren't scratches, they were claw marks.

Piper: If they were, you would've seen what had clawed her. Why are you being so stubborn about this?

Phoebe: Because I'm a Scorpio. What's your excuse?

Prue: Okay, so it's kind of late and, um, we're all a bit tired so how about we finish up tomorrow?

Phoebe: Now look what you did. You went and turned Prue into the middle child.

Piper: Okay, Phoebe, even if fairies and trolls do exist, you heard what her mum said, the problems started when her father left. That's psychology not magic.

Phoebe: I know. But you know what? I'm gonna check the Book Of Shadows just incase. 'Cause I don't wanna be out stubborned by a Gemini.

[Scene: Kate's house. Kate's room. Kate's mum kisses her goodnight. She goes to turn off the light but Kate stops her.]

Kate: No, don't! The tweens, they come out of the shadows.

Kate's Mum: Honey, just go to sleep, okay.

(She turns off the light and closes the door. Kate sits on her bed still holding onto the box.)

Kate: Please, go away. (She hears noises.) Leave us alone.

(Things move around in her bedroom. The door opens and she screams.)

Commercial Break

[Scene: Manor. Attic. Phoebe's sitting on the floor reading a book. Prue walks in.]

Prue: Hey.

(Phoebe picks up some drawings.)

Phoebe: Check this out. (Prue looks at the drawings. They are drawings of fairies and trolls.) We each drew one.

Prue: Lily.

Phoebe: Do you remember her? She was our little imaginary friend we had when we were kids.

Prue: I have not thought about Lily in years.

Phoebe: That's because you grew up and you stopped seeing her. Okay... (She reads from the book.) Fairies, elves and trolls are mystical creatures that live in a realm parallel to ours but separated by a thin vell.

(Prue looks at the cover of the book.)

Prue: "The Enchanted Realm"?

Phoebe: A thin vell which lives only in tween places. Tween places, Prue. That's like a realm in between two things. Like doorways and windows, um, shadows.

Prue: Shadows?

Phoebe: In between light and dark. And it's exactly what Kate said. Trolls live in the in between.

Prue: Right, but when you found Kate she wasn't in an in between.

Phoebe: Actually, she was in the biggest in between of all. Midnight. In the hour between night and day, the world itself becomes a tween.

Prue: Okay, so why isn't there anything in the Book Of Shadows?

Phoebe: Because the Book Of Shadows was written by adults. And I'm assuming that scary dude in your picture is a troll.

Prue: So then why is he trying to hurt Kate?

Phoebe: I don't know, we have to ask Kate. And we will fill Piper in on the way.

(The phone rings.)

Prue: You know, maybe we should do this one on our own. You know, I mean, Piper's kind of out of it.

Phoebe: Even more reason to drag her along. Take her mind off of Leo.

Piper: (from downstairs) Phoebe, phone. (Phoebe runs downstairs holding onto the drawings.) It's your little lawyer boyfriend.

(Phoebe hands her the drawings and Piper hands her the phone.)

Phoebe: So there. And he is not my boyfriend.

Piper: Weird.

(Piper walks away.)

Phoebe: (into the phone) Hello?

Cole: Who's not your boyfriend?

Phoebe: Um... the mailman. Uh, yeah, sometimes Piper likes to tease me because I like to get the mail a lot. So, how are you?

Cole: Well, it's a beautiful morning and I got a beautiful woman on the phone, so things could be worse. God, I sound like Billy Appleby.

Phoebe: What?

Cole: Nothing.

Phoebe: No, wait, what did you just say?

[Cut to Cole in his office. He has some information about Phoebe written on a sheet of paper.]

Cole: Billy Appleby's just this guy from this old movie I watched too much when I was a kid.

(He points to a highlighted sentence on the sheet of paper.)

Phoebe/Cole: "k*ll It Before It Dies".

Cole: You've seen it?

Phoebe: Once or twice.

Cole: Really? Too bad it's not playing, I'd take you to see it.

[Cut back to Phoebe. She mouths "I love you" to the phone.]

Cole: Of course we could always have dinner instead.

Phoebe: Are you asking me out, Councilor?

[Cut back to Cole.]

Cole: Guilty. (He turns the page to show a map of the manor and where the Book Of Shadows is.) How about tonight? I could stop by your place.

[Cut back to Phoebe. Prue comes down the stairs.]

Phoebe: Uh, really, uh, well... (Piper puts on her coat. Prue motions Phoebe to hurry.) Um, actually tonight's not good because Piper's going through something but I will call you and maybe we can meet at the club. (Prue snatches the phone off of Phoebe.) Sorry, bye. (Piper grabs her keys and Prue and Phoebe stand in front of her.) Did you not look at those drawings?

Piper: They're cute, yes.

Phoebe: Cute? Cute? We all had the same invisible fairy friend, Piper. That is proof that fairies exist.

(Piper tries to walk around them but they don't let her.)

Piper: Or it proves that one of us had a really fertile imagination and the other two were really big copycats.

Prue: Okay, Piper, honey, just listen to me, okay. Um, we think that Kate is in trouble, our kind of trouble.

Piper: Okay, well, I don't. And after what they did to Leo, I'm not really all that motivated to go dig up demons.

Phoebe: Trolls.

Piper: Whatever. Look, you guys can do whatever you want but I've had it and I'm done.

Prue: What does that mean?

Piper: It means that the "powers that be" haven't done anything but ruin my life so therefore I'm not gonna do anything for them anymore, okay. I'm going now, excuse me, I'm going now.

(She pushes past them and leaves.)

Phoebe: I think she's on strike.

[Scene: Kate's house. Kate's room. She is drawing pictures of the trolls. There is a knock on the door and her step dad walks in.]

Kate's Step Dad: Kate, someone's here to see you.

(Prue and Phoebe walk in. Prue's holding the drawings.)

Prue: Hey, so, um, we brought you your jacket. We had to use the spare key to get into the car though. I guess the fairies hid them after all.

Kate: Told you.

Phoebe: What are you drawing? That looks like a very scary cave.

Prue: You know, that looks a lot like mine.

(She shows her the drawing.)

Kate: That's a fairy and a troll. My mum says I'm making them up but I'm not.

Prue: Well, we believe you. Okay, we just need you to tell us everything you know so that we can help.

Kate: I don't know that much. Thistle's kind of hard to understand. Fairies don't talk the same way people do.

Phoebe: Thistle?

Kate: I saved her. See, the fairies are the bosses of the enchanted kingdom but the trolls thought they were the bosses, so they kidnapped Thistle from the king and queen of the fairies.

Phoebe: So Thistle is a princess?

Kate: Mmm hmm. But the trolls are gonna k*ll her unless her parents hand over the kingdom.

Phoebe: It's a miniature kudatar.

Kate: But I found her tied up in the cave and I saved her.

Prue: That was very brave of you.

Kate: But now the trolls hate me because I won't give her back. Most of the times I can stay out of the in betweens but at midnight...

Phoebe: There's no place to hide. Yeah, I know.

Prue: Can we see her?

Kate: No, only children can see fairies.

Phoebe: Well, I don't know if this is gonna help but Prue and I are very in touch with our inner children.

Prue: Can we at least try?

Kate: We'll have to go into an in between. Watch out for trolls.

Prue: Okay.

(Kate unlocks the box with a key hanging around her neck. She sits the box on the window sill, looks around and then opens the lid of the box. They don't see her and Prue shakes her head. Kate shuts the lid.)

Kate: I can't help if you can't see her. (She holds the box close to her ear and listens.) Thistle says that if you really believe in fairies, there's something that'll make you innocent again so you can see them. (Kate opens the lid, grabs a handful of fairy dust and throws it on Prue and Phoebe. Phoebe bursts out laughing.) I think it worked.

Prue: (in a childish voice) I wanna see the fairy.

(Kate opens the lid again and a little pink fairy flies out of the box. They stare at it with their eyes wide and mouths open.)

Commercial Break

[Scene: P3. The place is nearly empty. People are leaving. Prue and Phoebe, acting like children, are on stage singing songs. Piper walks down the stairs and is shocked by what she sees.]

Piper: Oh my God.

Prue/Phoebe: (singing) "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands. If you're happy and you know it pat your knee. (They pat their knee) If you're happy and you know it pat your knee."

Phoebe: (to the people watching) You guys have got to do it.

(Prue and Phoebe continue singing. Piper walks up to Abby.)

Piper: What the hell is going on?

Abby: You think this is bad? You should've been here for Frere Jacque. They've been acting like kids since they got here. I didn't serve them, I swear.

Piper: Alright, put on some music, any music and k*ll that microphone.

(Piper walks over to Prue and Phoebe.)

Phoebe: Hi.

Piper: Hi. Lost your minds?

Prue: Piper, we have been waiting and waiting and waiting...

Phoebe: Yeah, and you know what we did? We saw a fairy and she was very cute and she was sparkly and she was really, really pretty.

(Piper freezes everyone.)

Piper: Okay, what ass-backward spell did you guys cast?

Prue: We-we-we didn't cast a spell.

Phoebe: No, it is true, we did not use a spell but we did use fairy dust.

Piper: Fairy dust?

Phoebe: Yep.

Piper: Okay, great, so you can go home now and reverse it, Tinkerbell.

Phoebe: No, no, no. No, I am not a fairy. She thought I was a... We have to show her. Okay.

(Phoebe pulls a small pouch out of her pocket and they get a pinch of fairy dust out of it.)

Prue: Ready? Okay, go.

Phoebe: One, two, three.

(They throw the fairy dust in Piper's face and she sneezes.)

Piper: What the hell did you do that for?

Phoebe: Dat did not work.

Piper: No. Work, that's a very good idea. I'm gonna get back to work now.

(She unfreezes everyone and walks away. Prue and Phoebe follow her.)

Phoebe: Oh, you know what? You are being a big, big, big, extra, extra, extra, double big jerk right now. (A strand of hair is on Prue's face and she tries to grab it with her tongue.) Because now I have the key, (she shows her the key hanging around her neck) so Thistle is safe and we have to be back with Kate at midnight so when the trolls att*ck...

Piper: No. You guys are going home and you're not driving either 'cause someone will think you're drunk or something. So go outside and wait there and I will call a cab.

Prue: Oh...

Piper: Shh shh, no.

(Phoebe plays with the zipper on her jacket. Prue starts whining.)

Prue: Why are you being so meeeaan?

Piper: Because I don't want you to... (Phoebe hugs her.) Stop it. (Phoebe kisses her on the cheek.) You're trying to trick me into ending my strike. (Prue hugs her as well.) And it's not gonna work. You guys go home. Scoot. Go home. Scoot. And you go home and you reverse this ridiculous behaviour.

(They let go of her and walk towards the door. They turn around and stick their tongues out at Piper. They walk through the doorway and Phoebe dodges a troll. They jump on the ground.)

Prue: Are you okay?

Phoebe: Yeah. Trolls. They must know that we have to key now.

Prue: Okay, they're very scary but they're gonna come after us instead of Kate at midnight so alls we have to do is go home and wait for them.

Phoebe: Okay.

[Cut back inside P3. Piper finds Leo's Valentines Day card from the episode "Animal Pragmatism" under the cash register. She looks at it and then puts it back under the register.]

[Scene: Manor. Prue and Phoebe are running through the house.]

Phoebe: Geez, Louise, there are too many doorways in this house.

Prue: Okay, we have to call Kate on the walkie-talkies, okay? (They start up the stairs but stop when the doorbell rings.) Oh, do you think the trolls know about doorbells?

Phoebe: I don't know. (They cautiously walk up to the door. Phoebe opens it and Cole's there bent over at the waist.) Cooooole!

(He stands up.)

Cole: Hey, you're home.

Phoebe: Yes.

(Phoebe leans forward near the doorway.)

Prue: Ooh, ooh, tween!

Phoebe: Um, excuse me, but you were not supposed to meet me here, you were supposed to meet me at the club, 'member?

Cole: Was that the plan?

Phoebe: Yes, that was the plan.

Cole: Sorry, long day.

Prue: 'Kay, bye, close the door behind you.

Phoebe: Bye.

Prue: Bye.

(They run off.)

Cole: Um... (They stop and back into each other.) It's a long drive home. Do you think I could use your rest room?

Phoebe: Number 1 or number 2?

(Prue laughs.)

Prue: He has to go tootie.

Cole: Excuse me?

Phoebe: Okay, you can come in but you have to do it very fast whatever it is.

[Time lapse. Cole walks in the bathroom. He locks the door. He disappears and reappears in the attic. He sees the Book Of Shadows.]

[Cut back to Phoebe and Prue. They are standing in the hallway. Prue is holding a walkie-talkie.]

Prue: Kate, Kate, come in, it's Pwue.

[Cut to Kate's. She is standing in her room clutching onto the box looking very frightened. She can hear the trolls.]

Phoebe: Kate, are you there?

Kate: Prue, where are you?

Prue: We're at home. The dust didn't work on Piper.

Kate: Then she doesn't believe. What are we gonna do? I'm scared, there's shadows everywhere and it's almost midnight.

Phoebe: Okay, listen, Kate, okay, you don't have to worry, that's what we called to tell you because the trolls know that we have the key now, so they're not after you anymore, they're after us.

Kate: No, they're here too, I can hear them.

Prue: As long as we have the key, Thistle is safe. So, just stay there, and-and-and turn on all the lights [Cut back to Prue and Phoebe] and it'll disappear the shadows.

Phoebe: Yeah, yeah.

[Cut back to the attic. Cole reaches for the Book Of Shadows but it flies off its stand and onto the floor. Cole turns into a demon. (Soon known as Belthazor.) He reaches for the book again and it moves along the floor. He groans.]

[Cut back to Prue and Phoebe. They hear the groan.]

Phoebe: Trolls.

Prue: Let's go get 'em.

[Cut to the attic. Prue and Phoebe barge in.]

Prue/Phoebe: Hiiiyahh!

(Phoebe turns on the light and they see the demon. He disappears.)

Phoebe: Pwue, that was a very, very big troll.

Prue: That wasn't a troll, that was a demon.

Phoebe: Okay, well, where does that fit into this story?

Prue: He was after the Book Of Shadows.

Phoebe: Alright, well, you know we can't really worry about him now 'cause we have to get to Kate.

(Phoebe stands in the doorway and a troll's there.)

Prue: Oh, Phoebe! (The troll jumps down Phoebe's shirt.) Phoebe!

(Prue tackles Phoebe. The troll jumps out of Phoebe's shirt. Prue and Phoebe fall down the stairs and land on the second floor.)

Phoebe: (now an adult) Prue, they got the key.

(Cole walks out of the bathroom.)

Cole: Phoebe... Are you two okay?

Commercial Break

[Scene: Manor. Prue, Phoebe and Cole are walking down the stairs.]

Prue: You know what? Can you just go? I'm really sorry to rush you out but we have something very important to be taken care of.

(They head towards the door.)

Cole: But you sure you're okay? I mean, that sounded like a pretty nasty fall.

Phoebe: Yeah, Cole, we're fine really.

Cole: You two seem different.

Phoebe: Different?

Cole: I mean, I thought you were, I don't know, drunk or something before but now you seem...

Prue: Sober. Stairs can be sobering.

Phoebe: Right. Okay, um, I'm really sorry about plans there, Cole, I really am.

(She opens the door.)

Cole: No worries. I'll keep trying.

(He leaves and Phoebe closes the door.)

Phoebe: Stairs can be sobering?

Prue: Okay, what was I supposed to say? That some unknown demon came in to try and steal our magic book and then little trolls came and pushed us down the stairs?

Phoebe: Right, okay, but why are we thinking like grown ups all of a sudden?

Prue: I don't know, it must've been from the trauma of the att*ck. Which is probably a really good thing because I don't really think our inner children would've had much luck protecting Kate.

Phoebe: And now that the trolls have the key we really need to go protect Kate. (Phoebe opens the door and Prue heads upstairs.) Uh, hello, Prue?

(She shuts the door and follows Prue.)

[Cut to the attic. Prue and Phoebe walk in.]

Phoebe: Okay, I don't understand why we just don't get to Kate.

Prue: Because with the dust warn off we won't be able to see the trolls.

(Prue walks over to the Book Of Shadows and flips through the pages.)

Phoebe: Okay, well, I already looked in the Book Of Shadows and there's nothing in there about trolls.

Prue: I know, I'm thinking of piecing together a make shift spell like here. (She finds a spell in the book.) Um, to see what can't be seen. If we combine that one with the one to cultivate innocence and the power of three spell it just might work.

Phoebe: That's why you're the oldest sister, you are always thinking.

Prue: Thank you. Alright, uh, I'll work on the spell, why don't you go call Piper.

Phoebe: Okay. Um, what's the point of that? Isn't she still on the picket line?

Prue: Yeah, but we can't fight the trolls without her, I mean, they're just too fast, we need her to freeze them. You know, maybe we wanted her to be with us before but now we actually need her.

Phoebe: Okay.

(She heads towards the door.)

Prue: Uh, hey, watch out for doorways and stuff because now that the trolls know that we're helping Kate, they'll do everything they can to stop all three of us.

Phoebe: Mmm hmm.

(Phoebe runs through the doorway quickly.)

[Scene: P3. Piper places some wine glasses on a tray and walks towards the bar. The trolls trip Piper who drops the tray. She bends down and picks up the glass. Piper cuts her finger on the glass.]

Piper: Ow!

(Abby walks up to Piper holding the phone.)

Abby: Hey, Piper, your sister's... (she sees the mess) on the phone.

Piper: Perfect. (She takes the phone. Abby helps clean up the mess.) It's okay, I'll get it, I'll get it, it's alright. (Piper walks up to the bar and wraps a napkin around her finger.) (in the phone) You need a diaper change?

Phoebe: Very funny. Look, we need you to come home right away by midnight or else...

Piper: The tooth fairy's gonna come and harass us all for not flossing?

Phoebe: Alright, I know you don't believe in fairy's and I'm not asking you to...

Piper: Then what are you asking?

Phoebe: We were trying to distract you before, we were trying to take your mind off of Leo, okay. And it was wrong and I'm sorry for that but it's not about that anymore, Piper. We are up against something that we can not fight without you.

Piper: Trolls.

Phoebe: Believe it or don't but they are sneaky and mean and they are trying to hurt a seven year old girl. (Piper looks around the club.) Hello?

Piper: Any chance they may have been here?

Phoebe: Yeah, one att*cked me there earlier. Why?

Piper: Nothing.

Phoebe: Alright, look, they know that we're witches and they will do anything to stop us from helping Kate.

Piper: Alright, I'm on my way.

Phoebe: Okay, well, don't forget to stay out of the... (Piper hangs up.) [Cut to Phoebe] Tween places.

[Cut back to Piper. She grabs her purse and looks for her keys.]

Piper: Abby, have you seen my keys?

Abby: Aren't they on the hook?

Piper: No, if they were on the hook I wouldn't be asking.

(Piper swings around and knocks over some bottles.)

Abby: I got it, I got it.

Piper: Oh, damn it. (She continues looking for the keys.) Spare key, spare key. Register. (She opens the cash register and the trolls close it on her fingers.) Son of a...

Abby: Oh, are you okay?

Piper: Uh, could you just do me a favour and close up for me?

Abby: Oh, yeah, sure.

Piper: Thank you.

[Cut to outside. The trolls push Piper out the door. She walks towards her car and the trolls trip her. She falls on the ground and all her stuff falls out of her purse.]

Piper: You better run while you can, you little rodents. (She stands up and looks up at the sky.) I bet you guys think this is real funny don't ya? Haven't you taken enough from me? You have to send trolls to kick me while I'm down. (She picks up her stuff and puts them back in her purse.) I had a nice normal life once and you took that from me. You took my boyfriend, you took my life, the least you could do is leave me... (a couple walk past) my freakin' car keys. I am a good person, I am a good witch and damn it I would've made a great wife. And how dare you take that from me. I deserve... no, you know what? I demand that you send him back to me. You hear me? Right now. I am going to stand in this very spot until you send Leo back to me.

(Nothing happens.)

[Scene: Manor. 11:54pm. Prue and Phoebe are waiting for Piper.]

Prue: She said that she was coming, right?

Phoebe: What'd you think I just made that part up?

Prue: No, but it's almost 12:00 and we still have to go over to Kate's.

Phoebe: Well, maybe we should do it with out her. Do the best we can.

Prue: No, I used the power of three spell, it won't work without her.

Phoebe: We can rewrite it.

Prue: In six minutes.

Phoebe: Do you have a better idea?

(Piper walks in.)

Piper: Sorry I'm late.

Phoebe: Hey, are you okay?

Piper: I thought this wasn't about me.

Prue: Well, it just... you don't really seem like you're very open.

Piper: I'm as open as I'm gonna get in the next five minutes so let's just do the damn spell.

(They read from a piece of paper.)

Prue/Piper/Phoebe: "In this tween time this darkest hour, we call upon the sacred power. Three together stand alone, command the unseen to be shown. In innocence we search the skies, enchanted are our new found eyes."

Phoebe: You've really gotta lay off the rhyming, Prue.

Prue: Alright, well, let's just go ring the doorbell, Piper, you freeze Kate's parents so that we can get past them, okay?

Piper: Fine, whatever.

(She walks off.)

Prue: Fine, whatever.

[Scene: Kate's house. Kate's room. She is standing in the middle of the room clutching onto the box and holding the walkie-talkie.]

Kate: (into the walkie-talkie) Prue? Hello? Phoebe? Please answer me. Hello? (The clock hits 12:00 and the trolls appear. They fly around Kate. Prue, Piper and Phoebe walk in. The trolls fly around them, pushes them outside into the hallway and shuts the door. They knock the box out of Kate's hands.) Thistle! (The box falls under the bed.) Phoebe, they're taking Thistle.

[Cut to the hallway.]

Phoebe: Okay, why can't we see them?

Prue: Obviously the spell didn't work.

(Prue uses her power and opens the door. The trolls drag Kate under the bed.)

Kate: Help me!

(The trolls knock down a shelf of toys.)

[Cut to under the bed. The troll throws dust on Kate and she turns into a fairy. They take her away. Prue, Piper and Phoebe look under the bed.]

Phoebe: Where'd she go?

Commercial Break

[Scene: Kate's house. Continued from before.]

Prue: There's nothing here.

Piper: Well, she's gotta be here somewhere, she couldn't have just disappeared.

Phoebe: Unless the trolls turned her into a fairy.

Prue: A fairy? Why would they do that?

Phoebe: I have no idea. Maybe to punish her for taking Thistle. (She picks up the box.) But we have to find Kate. Okay, come on, give me a premonition.

Prue: I don't understand. I mean, why couldn't we see the trolls? We've had spells backfire on us before but never the power of three.

Piper: It didn't backfire. The spell didn't work because of me.

Prue: Piper...

Piper: No, it's-it's true. This is all my fault. I just, I wanted to save Kate and never meant to hurt her, I never meant for this...

Prue: Don't blame yourself, okay? You have every right to be angry.

Piper: But not at the expense of a little girl. I just don't understand how I'm supposed to believe in anything anymore. I just want him back, Prue.

Prue: I know. But right now we have to get Kate back, okay, and we're gonna need your help to do that.

Phoebe: Damn it, damn it, damn it. I don't understand. What good is this power if I can't use it when I need it?

Prue: Phoebe, you have to focus.

Phoebe: Prue, I am focusing, believe me.

Prue: You're too upset, so take a deep breath...

Piper: Guys...

Phoebe: I can't levitate when I want to, I can't premonition when I want to...

Piper: Guys!

Phoebe: What?

Piper: I think the spell is working. (She points to a fairy flying near the window.) Do you see it?

Phoebe: What's it doing?

Prue: I think it wants us to follow it.

[Time lapse. Outside in a garden. Prue, Piper and Phoebe are following the fairy. They approach a cave and it flies away.]

Prue: I think he got scared away.

Phoebe: Yeah, and I can see why. This looks like the cave from Kate's drawing.

Piper: The first troll I see is in really big trouble. Let's go.

(They walk into the cave and hide behind a rock. Kate and Thistle are locked in a cage.)

Phoebe: Troll central.

(The troll's place a branch underneath the cage. One troll is banging two rocks together trying to make a fire.)

Piper: What are they doing?

Prue: It looks like they're trying to start a fire, although I don't really think that it's for roasting marshmallows.

Phoebe: Kate and Thistle.

(The trolls get the fire started.)

Prue: Alright, Piper, do you think that you can freeze them from here?

Piper: I can try.

(Some trolls att*ck them and they walk further into the cave.)

Prue: Piper, freeze them.

Piper: They're too fast.

(One heads straight for Piper and she freezes it. Prue moves it into the fire and it burns.)

Prue: One down.

Phoebe: Okay... (Phoebe jumps up and levitates.) Prue, a little help here.

(Prue uses her power and Phoebe flies over to the cage. She unhooks it and lands back on the ground.)

Prue: Piper, run.

Piper: Run? Run where?

Prue: Just run, Piper, run!

(Prue drags Piper towards the fire.)

Piper: Are you out of your mind?

Prue: Freeze the flames! (Piper freezes the fire and they jump through it. The trolls head towards them.) Unfreeze, now. (Piper unfreezes the fire and burns all of the trolls.) Now that is just the way I like my trolls, medium-well.

(Phoebe laughs. She lets Kate and Thistle of the cage.)

Phoebe: Here you guys go. It's okay, there you go. (They start to fly away.) Um, hey, hey, hey, you guys, wait up.

(They stop.)

Prue: Thistle, don't you know how to turn Kate back into a person?

(Kate looks at Thistle and shakes her head.)

Phoebe: Kate, you know, you can't stay a fairy because if you do, your mum will be very sad.

Piper: Um, you know what? I think I kinda know how you're feeling. When someone you love goes away it doesn't make any sense and it feels like the whole world is out to get you. But you know what? Your mum and dad didn't split up to hurt you. Things just happen. Things that you may never understand. But you just have to believe that it's for the best. Even if it doesn't always seem that way. You remember how sad you were when your daddy left? (She nods.) Well, that's how sad everybody's gonna be if you don't come home.

(Kate looks at Thistle and nods. Thistle turns her back into a human. Phoebe goes over and hugs Kate.)

Prue: (to Piper) Nicely done.

Commercial Break

[Scene: Manor. Prue, Piper and Phoebe walk through the front door. They look very sore and tied.]

Phoebe: Ow.

Piper: Yep.

Prue: Ice?

Phoebe: Bed. (Just as Prue closes the door the doorbell rings. Prue opens the door back up and there are flowers on the porch.) Who delivers at this hour?

(Prue bends down and picks up her keys.)

Prue: Hmm, I think this is somebody's way of saying thank you. Here. (She hands them the flowers.)

Piper: Well, you're welcome.

(They carry them inside.)

Phoebe: Oh, they're so pretty.

(Piper puts on a wreath of flowers on her head. Prue and Phoebe look at her.)

Prue: Piper, um, we...

(She takes it back off.)

Phoebe: We, um, we just...

Piper: I know, it's okay. I'm actually beginning to understand why they don't want witches and Whitelighters to be together. (They walk into the living room and sit down.) Marriage is, um, hard enough, you know. But marriage to a Whitelighter... He's gotta orb out at all times of the night and sometimes he's gone for weeks at a time. But honestly if I'm gonna have a meltdown every time I have no idea where he is, the none of us are gonna be able to do our jobs. (Tears fill her eyes.) And if we had lost that little girl tonight...

Phoebe: But we didn't.

Piper: But we could've. And I don't think I could live with that. If that means that I have to give up Leo, then I guess that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. (She walks out of the room. Leo orbs in on the stairs. Piper gets a fright.) Am I dreaming?

Leo: No.

(They hug.)

Piper: I had a dream that you weren't coming back. That wasn't a dream either, was it?

Leo: No, it wasn't. They had forbidden me from ever seeing you again. (Phoebe and Prue walk in.) But now, I don't know what you said or did but they said you showed great courage and great faith, enough to make them reconsider.

Phoebe: Does that mean you guys can get married now?

Prue: Ugh...

Phoebe: What? I wanna know.

Leo: Not yet. It means they're giving us a chance to prove we can make it work.

Phoebe: What do you mean? Like probation?

(Piper gives Phoebe a look.)

Leo: If we can show them that our relationship won't get in the way of our work...

Piper: Then we can stay together?

Leo: But if anything goes wrong, we're distracted by each other...

Piper: We won't be.

(Piper and Leo go upstairs.)

Phoebe: Are you worried?

Prue: When are you going to learn? I am always worried. I'm relieved that he's back though, not only for Piper but...

Phoebe: I know. Unknown, unattractive demon on the loose.

Prue: Yeah, let's not tell them until tomorrow. I think that the least that they deserve is one night worry free romance don't you?

Phoebe: Mmm, romance, uhh.

[Time lapse. Phoebe is calling Cole's office.]

Cole: Turner.

Phoebe: Uh, hi, Cole, what are you doing in the office at two in the morning?

Cole: What are you doing calling the office at two in the morning?

Phoebe: Um, I-I was just gonna leave you a message. Save you the trouble of having to talk to me.

Cole: Why would I ever not want to talk to you?

Phoebe: I don't know, you know, just incase you thought I was a drunk or a lunatic or a drunk lunatic.

Cole: I think I'm gonna go with mystery. One I'm looking forward to figuring out.

Phoebe: Okay, um, I'm going to go then and, uh, be mysterious.

Cole: I'll call you.

Phoebe: I will answer.

(She hangs up and falls back onto the couch.)

[Cut to Cole's office.]

Cole: Yes! (to his shadow) Tell them I'm getting closer.

(His shadows disappears into and air vent.)

End