Setting the Stage to be Charmed

"I've been accepted! I've been accepted!" Paige screeched. She ran through the house, excitedly waving around her acceptance letter from Berkeley University.

Prue turned away from the phone long enough to grab Paige as the youngest sister ran by. She offered a tight hug and a proud smile to her. "Great job, Paige," she stated wholeheartedly.

Paige beamed up at Prue before racing over to Grams and waving the letter in her grandmother's face. Grams chuckled softly and led Paige into the kitchen for a victory dessert of Paige's choice.

~PO4~

Piper pulled into the driveway and got out of her car. She grabbed the papers from the bank that she hadn't finished during the day and proceeded inside.

From a distance, Jeremy leaned against a lamppost. His eyes followed the elder middle Halliwell until she disappeared inside the Manor. Two warlocks blinked in next to him. "I believe the Charmed Ones have been found," Jeremy announced.

"Then let's kill them," one warlock suggested eagerly.

Jeremy shook his head. "Not yet. Their powers must resurface first," he reminded them. Each warlock made a face of disgust at waiting but they reluctantly agreed, eventually blinking out of the street so that only Jeremy was left. "I have a plan. Soon," he stated to himself.

~PO4~

Phoebe was in Piper's room, hastily typing away on Piper's computer. Next to her bed there was a pile of cash that she had been saving up. The computer screen finally loaded and Phoebe looked over the prices for airplane tickets to New York. She frowned at the numbers and cursed as she realized she'd need to drive. She flipped to a different tab where there was an article published in New York. Victor Bennett was labeled as being in the picture for some kind of work he'd been doing.

"Phoebe?" Prue's voice carried from downstairs as well as footsteps coming up.

Phoebe tossed the cash into a bag that she carried and hurried out of Piper's room before she could be caught. She hid the bag under her bed and resigned herself to waiting a little while longer. Phoebe slammed her head into her pillow as the house phone began to ring incessantly. Irritably, Phoebe's hand shot out to the one that resided in her and Paige's room (courtesy of Paige begging Prue). "Halliwell," she grumbled into the phone. She looked up thoughtfully when she heard the voice on the other end. "John? No, Paige isn't here…" she trailed off with a bit of a smirk crossing her features. She rolled over into a more comfortable position. "… how about I bring it to you? Say 6 o'clock? Perfect." Phoebe hung up and made sure her bag was truly hidden as she heard Prue's footsteps coming down the hall. "Sorry, Paige," Phoebe apologized under her breath but her faint smile didn't leave her face as she looked through the closet for something to wear tonight.