Disclaimer

Whilst I have enjoyed creating a new story for them, I do not own any of the characters in the 'Charmed Universe' they of course belong to Aaron Spelling and Constance Burge et al. I have also borrowed the myth surrounding the Winter Solstice, and the notion of the significance of the 5 elements and the pentagram to the practice of Wicca. I found these ideas in a book on Wicca whilst researching the story.

'Coffee, give me coffee.' Phoebe Halliwell stumbled bleary-eyed in to the kitchen definitely still on dreamtime. Yawning widely she dropped in to the seat opposite her eldest sister Prue, and slumped forward, letting her head rest on the table, blonde hair cascading on to the newspaper that up until now Prue had been quietly reading.

Prue suppressed a smile. Phoebe rarely saw the hours between 6 and 8am. Something of a live wire, she had a tendency to party until the early hours and then sleep the morning away. She took a sip of her coffee and savoured the rich taste and pungent aroma. There was nothing like a fresh pot of coffee in the morning especially when it was 'leaded'. Her sisters favoured decaf, but Prue preferred the real deal and early in the morning was the only time she could drink it without suffering their sarcastic remarks. Still it looked like Phoebe could use a little caffeine fix of her own this morning. She picked up the pot, which was still warm, and poured a cup for Phoebe, placing it carefully on the table in front of her sleepy sister.

'Ooh, what happened you set your alarm wrong again?' Prue asked, stroking Phoebe's hair in mock sympathy.

'Ha, ha very funny. For your information I have a class this morning' Phoebe retaliated, without bothering to raise her head from the table.

'So I guess it was a late one last night' Prue surmised as she folded up her newspaper and placed it neatly on the table in front of her. No chance of reading now that Phoebe was awake. Prue was always the first one up. It had become something of a ritual; a quiet moment to herself in what was invariably a hectic and demanding day. Today her quiet time had ended prematurely, not that she really minded. She and Phoebe had been estranged when they were younger, but now that they had developed the closeness that had been lacking during their formative years Prue enjoyed her youngest sister's company. They had a lot of wasted time to catch up on, and they both relished the second chance that destiny had handed them.

'I didn't get to bed until three' Phoebe admitted morosely as she forced herself up from the table and reached for the coffee that Prue had poured for her. 'Please tell me this is leaded.'

Prue smirked. 'Like you even have to ask?'

Phoebe smiled. 'Boy do I need a shot of caffeine right now. Just don't tell Piper' she begged. 'I'll never hear the end of it.'

'Don't worry your secret's safe with me.' Prue promised, miming zipping her lips.

'Good.' Phoebe said stifling another yawn. She took a sip of her coffee. 'Ooh' she groaned clutching her head.

'Premonition?' Prue asked, instantly alert.

'Hangover' Phoebe admitted sheepishly.

'Seems I missed quite a party last night.' Prue observed.

'Well if you had stayed at P3 like I told you to, you would have experienced for yourself just how great the band was, and you would have may be even enjoyed yourself.' Phoebe chastised, her eyes letting Prue know that she was more concerned than angry. She took another sip of her coffee; taking a moment to savour the taste just as Prue had done earlier.

Prue frowned in irritation. 'I told you already; I had to get my assignment finished by this morning. My editor's been on my case all week and I can't afford to lose this job.'

Phoebe shook her head in dismay 'Prue you have been working around the clock lately, isn't it about time you had some fun? You do remember fun don't you?'

"Mmmm vaguely.' Prue joked, her eyes crinkling as she smiled.

'Well isn't it about time the two of you got reacquainted?' Phoebe asked, looking at Prue meaningfully.

'Okay, okay' Prue threw up her hands in mock protest 'I promise I'll take some time off.'

'When?' Phoebe pressed.

'Soon' Prue promised. 'So is Piper still sleeping?' She asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Phoebe frowned. She should have known she wasn't gonna win this argument. Prue was a workaholic, always had been. She'd made her feelings known and that was it argument over, case closed, and she wouldn't be drawn on it further. Arguments with Prue always followed the same pattern and Phoebe had learned the hard way that there was no use trying to prolong the debate, they would just end up fighting and she didn't want that. In the past she would have taken Prue on, just to get a rise out of her older sister. These days her relationship with Prue was much better and she intended to keep it that way. A little reluctantly she let it go, and instead allowed herself to be manipulated in to the new topic of conversation.

'I wouldn't expect Piper to surface anytime soon' she said, a smile crossing her features. 'Leo showed up just after we got home last night. I figure the two of them have got a lot of er' she paused searching for the right words 'catching up to do.' She sighed wistfully, wishing that her own relationship with ADA Cole Turner were running so smoothly.

'A ha' Prue grinned. 'Well at least one of us is doing okay in the relationship stakes.' She took a final sip of her coffee and pushed back her chair 'Time I was getting to work, and you'd better get going too if you're gonna make that early class.'

Phoebe merely nodded dismissively and reached for the coffee pot. One more cup ought to set her up for the day ahead. She knew she shouldn't really be drinking so much caffeine, but it was either that or snooze through class and she really wanted to graduate this summer. It was amazing how two cups of coffee could make up for only 3 hours sleep.

Halfway to the door Prue hesitated and looked around uncertainly.

'What's the matter?' Phoebe asked, a little more alert thanks to the hefty dose of caffeine she'd just imbibed.

Prue frowned. 'I don't know I just felt a chill. It's like someone turned the AC up way too high.' She turned worried eyes on Phoebe 'You know what that means.'

'Shax' Phoebe answered automatically. He had attacked several times already this week and they still hadn't managed to vanquish him permanently.

Before either of them could react, a tornado of artic air whipped through the kitchen destroying anything and everything that was in its path. Seconds later the imposing figure of Shax stood before them.

'Quick Phoebe the spell' Prue instructed as she squared off against Shax, putting herself between him and her sister. She just had to hold him off long enough for Phoebe to recite the spell. She thought of calling for Piper, they could really do with her explosive power right about now, but there wasn't time.

'I can't remember it, I don't remember' Phoebe stuttered in panic. Frantically she tried to picture the words on the page of the Book of Shadows, but nothing would come. Her throat closed with fear and her chest tightened uncomfortably. They were going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

'Phoebe' Prue yelled in desperation as Shax advanced on her, but Phoebe could only watch helplessly as Shax sent Prue flying through the air. Prue hit the wall hard and slumped to the floor.

'No!' Phoebe screamed running over to her sister's lifeless body. Prue's eyes were glassy, and Phoebe couldn't find a pulse. 'No!' she screamed again as Shax turned towards her.

'Hey, hey sweetie wake up, it's just a dream.' Piper said softly, gently shaking Phoebe by the shoulder. Unable to rouse her, she tried again, this time speaking more insistently 'Phoebe, come on wake up.' She shook her sister more vigorously.

Phoebe awoke with a start and found herself staring in to the concerned eyes of her older sister. 'Piper?' She asked in confusion, still a little disorientated.

'Shush.' Piper said soothingly, hugging Phoebe tightly. 'Everything's alright, you're safe, everything's fine.'

'It happened again.' Phoebe said shakily, screwing up her eyes against the light. 'The same dream, the one about Prue and Shax.' She shivered. She was drenched in sweat and her skin felt cold and clammy.

'Piper it felt so real. Shax was attacking Prue and I couldn't remember the vanquishing spell. She kept asking me to help her and I couldn't.'

'I know honey' Piper soothed. 'But Phoebe we vanquished Shax, it's all over.'

'Then why do I keep on having this same dream?' Phoebe asked insistently. Her heart was still racing, and even though the last fragments of the dream were dissipating, she couldn't shake the feeling of fear.

'There's got to be a reason. Do you think it's some kind of premonition? I've had them in my dreams before.'

'I don't think so. Your dream is about something that's already happened, that's not the way your powers work, you usually see the future not the past' Leo said from behind Piper.

He looked as though he were still half asleep. He was wearing a pair of boxers and a faded grey t-shirt, and his hair was tousled as though he hadn't brushed it in days. He put his hand to his mouth attempting to smother a yawn.

'But it hasn't already happened' Phoebe argued. When Piper and Leo looked at her in confusion she hastily explained 'I mean that's not how it happened. I wasn't even there when Shax killed Prue.' She looked down at the duvet, which she had twisted in her hand 'I was with Cole.'

'You know dreams are often the result of your subconscious mind trying to work through issues that your conscious mind doesn't want to deal with' Leo said gently, breaking the awkward silence. 'I think your dream is just a reflection of the guilt you feel at not being there when Prue died. It's your way of coping with it.'

'Makes sense' Piper agreed, giving Phoebe's hand a comforting squeeze.

'But Prue died two years ago, why would I suddenly start dreaming about her now?' Phoebe protested.

'Well we have been talking about her a lot lately.' Piper offered, looking to Leo for support. He nodded encouragingly, and she continued 'I guess it's not surprising you started dreaming about her.'

'Maybe. Phoebe acknowledged, not completely convinced. 'But I still can't shake the feeling that something bad is gonna happen.'

'Well if you don't let me get some sleep soon something bad is gonna happen' Piper said, only half joking. 'You know how I get when I don't have my full eight hours.'

Heavily pregnant, she was having a hard time sleeping these days. Her swollen belly made finding a comfortable sleeping position practically impossible, and if that wasn't bad enough she was plagued by an aching back and recurrent heartburn, not to mention the baby's tendency to use her for soccer practice. She'd only managed an hour of sleep before she'd been awoken by Phoebe's screams, and she was exhausted.

'Oh honey I'm sorry.' Phoebe said, instantly filled with guilt. 'You go back to bed, I'll be fine now, don't worry.'

'Okay. Good' Piper nodded, not needing any more persuading. She really wasn't good without sleep and she sure hadn't had enough of it lately.

'Well we'll see you in the morning then' she said decisively, easing herself off the edge of Phoebe's bed, and taking hold of Leo's hand. Leo gave Phoebe a reassuring smile before allowing Piper to lead him back to bed. As he left he switched off the light, leaving Phoebe alone in the dark.

Phoebe reached over and turned on the bedside lamp. She was still way too creeped out by the dream to even think about sleep, and she wasn't too crazy about sitting alone in the dark right now. She sure hoped that they were right, that it was just a bad dream, but she couldn't shake the sense of foreboding. Something was coming, something bad, she was sure of it.

To Be Continued ……