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Chapter Text

Initially, it was the exquisite skill of the forger that caught Peter’s attention. The obvious eye for detail and wide range of sharply honed skills. The department nicknamed their perp James Bonds and settled in for the long haul. A forger this good...well, it was only a matter of time before he moved onto bigger and better things.

Like taunting the FBI. Slipping every tail. Dodging every net. He was a magician but a magician who eventually led them to a name. Neal Caffrey—age seventeen. It wasn’t the kid’s age that had Peter’s mind working though, it was his most recent evasion of the FBI. They’d been close. Really close. Inches away actually, only to turn a corner to find Caffrey was gone.

And security tapes didn’t show how he’d left the building. It wasn’t even the first time something like this had happened. Caffrey was a chameleon, master of disguise and seemingly had the ability to just know when they were close. It was like...magic.

“You know Peter,” El said, “you can’t blame magic every time you run into this kid. Just because he’s slick doesn’t mean he’s a witch.” She smiled.

Peter sighed. “Hard not to consider it, hon.” Before he and El had gotten married, she’d let him in on her family secret. The Mitchells were a proud family of witches. El was more interested in her business than brewing potions, but she still found time to help the innocent. Even if Peter wasn’t always thrilled about her being in danger.

“I admit; the whole vanishing act recently was pretty weird.” She wrapped arms around his shoulders and peered down at the papers on the table in front of him. “I could make a call...if you want.”

“To whom?” Peter turned his head to look at her.

“Well, you know my cousin Henry married a witch. Her name is Phoebe. I’ve talked about her before.”

“Right, Henry’s the cop?”

“Yeah.” Elizabeth smiled. “I visited her when I was in San Francisco.” She shrugged. “In any case, if there’s a young witch abusing his magic she’ll want to know. I’ll give her a call. If he is a witch, you aren’t going to be able to handle him without a bit of help anyway.”

“And if he isn’t, then I’ll just have to face the fact that a teenager is smarter than me, right?”

She kissed his cheek. “You’ll catch him. I know it.”

***

Paige shooed her son out the door to school, phone wedged between her shoulder and ear, hands full with his backpack as she slipped it over his shoulders. She waved goodbye and turned her attention back to the phone call.

“You really think this kid is a witch?”

Paige nodded, “I can see your point there.”

“And I guess there’s no harm in checking...I’ll call my sisters and we’ll work something out. Maybe I’ll just swing by this afternoon. Sure. It’s no problem at all, you’re family.” Paige smiled. “Sure. See you later.”

“Who was that?” Henry asked. “Kids get out all right?”

“Yes, they did.” She kissed her husband. “And that was your cousin, Elizabeth. Apparently, her husband has quite the escape artist on his hands.”

“They think magic is at work then?”

“Elizabeth isn’t sure, but Peter is suspicious. I know how you law enforcement types get. Someone will have to check. Can’t let someone run around abusing magic.” She wrinkled her nose. “I should get to work. I’ll see you tonight?”

He nodded, leaning down for another kiss. “Tonight.”

***

Unaware of either parties’ discussions, the subject of the FBI manhunt, a slender teenager with dark hair and bright blue eyes, slipped into his apartment after a long day of the confidence game with a smile on his face.

About four seconds later, white light heralded the arrival of his whitelighter.

“You know, Mozzie, you could knock first.” Neal eyed the eternally balding, bespectacled man. “What if I had company?”

“I know when Kate is here, Neal.” Mozzie rolled his eyes. “So, what’d you get up to today?”

“Nothing evil.” Neal smiled. “I thought you were laying low or something. Aren’t the Elders pissed off at you or something.”

Finger to his lips, Mozzie shushed his young charge. “Don’t say the E word. You never know when they’re listening. Worse than G-men.”

“Uh huh.”

“Speaking of evil...have you seen Kate today?”

Neal frowned. “Look, I know you don’t like Kate but calling her evil is a stretch.”

“Not really. She’s a demon.”

Neal rolled his eyes. “Reformed.”

“Uh huh.” Mozzie shook his head. “There’s a bit of chatter about you. You should probably lay low for a couple days.”

“Fine.” Neal flopped down on his couch. “Anything else?”

Mozzie adjusted his glasses. “No…I noticed you’ve been kind of twitchy lately. The chase getting to you?”

“No.” Neal shook his head. “I’ve just had a lot of premonitions lately. Weird ones.” He frowned.

“What kind of weird are we talking about here?”

“I mean sure I get flashes when the Feds close in but this is different. I see this man. Tall, dark hair. Looks like me. He keeps trying to say something but I can’t understand him.” The boy shrugged. “Maybe it’s nothing.”

“Could be. Or it could not. I’ll ask around.” Mozzie sighed. “You know, you aren’t too old for Magic School, Neal. It’s not too late.”

“No,” Neal snapped. “Stop asking.”

“All right. All right. Mea culpa.” Mozzie raised his hands in surrender. “Call if you need anything.”

Neal watched his whitelighter orb away and sighed. He wasn’t even sure why he’d told his paranoid guardian about the visions. They weren’t even really premonitions. More like...bad dreams.

A couple minutes later, Kate shimmered into view, a smile on her cupid’s bow lips. “Hey, Neal.”

“Kate.” Neal smiled. “It’s good to see you. How long do you have?”

“Don’t worry, I got a hall pass.” She sat down on the couch next to him. “Are you okay? You look a bit tired.”

“Running can tire a person out.”

“You know, if you just...came home with me…” She batted her eyelashes. “Adler would protect you too.”

“Thanks, but I want my freedom.”

She nodded. “Of course. You want me to order pizza? My treat.”

Neal smiled. “You know just the way to cheer a guy up.”

She turned away, eyes flashing black as a sly smile worked across her face. “You bet I do.”

***

Later that evening…

“Wow, this kid has quite the rap sheet,” Piper said. “Forgery, theft, racketeering…What is racketeering?”

“When you sell a service that doesn’t exist,” Henry replied. “Basically.”

“So, this little delinquent has been running around kingdom come, possibly using magic to steal and con people.” Piper shook her head. “Is this a recent photo?”

“Yeah.” Paige nodded. “Elizabeth sent it all over.”

“He’s a good-looking kid,” Phoebe said. “I guess that helps with the whole conman thing. Do you really think he’s using magic?”

“We’ll find out,” Paige said. “I’m going to head to New York tomorrow and try to track him down. I was thinking, given that he’s a teenager—it might come in handy to have a teenager along.”

“Does that mean me?” Wyatt asked, peaking out of the living room. The tall blond teenager raised his eyebrows.

“Or me?” A slightly smaller teenager peered out from behind him, green eyes wide.

“Why am I not surprised that you two are eavesdropping?” Piper asked, glaring at her sons.

“We’re predictable?” Wyatt said with a smile.

“We aren’t that predictable, Wy.” Chris gave his brother a look.

“But yes, I was thinking of you two,” Paige said. “Plus, I might need help containing our little friend if it turns out he does have magic.”

“Then what?” Phoebe asked. “Bind his powers and let the FBI lock him up? He’s just a kid.”

“A kid who has stolen millions of dollars,” Henry said. “You can’t just let him get away with it.”

“No, but I don’t know that prison would be right either.” Piper shook her head. “All right Paige, you may borrow the boys—but they better not miss any school.”

“That’s all I need.” Paige smiled. “Come on kids. We’ve got a conman to catch.”

***

Elizabeth heard a knock on the door and smiled, shushing Satchmo as she opened it to the slight red-head. “Paige!”

“El!” Paige hugged her cousin-in-law. “It’s good to see you.”

“You look great. How are the kids?”

“Good. I brought some along too,” she jerked her thumb back at the boys standing behind her. “The blond is Wyatt and the grumpy one is Chris, my nephews.”

“Hey, I am not grumpy.” Chris frowned.

“Of course not sweetie.” Paige smiled.

“Well come on in. I have a room set up just in case Mr. Caffrey turns out to be more trouble than an average teenager.”

“Wonderful.” Paige and the boys followed El upstairs to her workroom. She set up a partial crystal perimeter already and had a few potions on standby. “Ooh, I smell—binding potion?”

El shrugged. “It won’t work on anyone really powerful, but if he’s just some one-trick pony it should do the trick. If we you need it.”

“Well, if I bless it that will up the stakes. Not that I necessarily plan to bind his powers—if he has any—but it’s nice to have the option.”

“That was my thought,” El agreed. “He could just be a messed-up kid who needs help.”

“Here’s hoping.” Paige glanced at the boys. “I brought the boys along to facilitate the conversation, as it were. I figure a teenage boy is more likely to respond to other teenagers.”

“Good point. Well, if you want to scry for him, I have something that he touched.” She headed over to a table with a map already spread out on it and held up one of the confiscated bonds. “Here.”

Paige took the bond. “Wow, this looks real.”

“I know.”

Paige picked up the crystal and swung it over the map, biting down on her lip in concentration. The crystal made a tight circle before pulling free of her grip and dropping to the map.

“Well, that’s a terrible neighborhood,” El remarked. “Cheap though.”

“All right, let’s go see if Mr. Caffrey is home.”

***

Off Central Park there was a huge mansion with cream walls and broad windows trimmed in white. The interior was lush Baroque. On the third floor, behind a massive mahogany desk, sat a dapper man in a perfectly tailored suit. He fiddled with his silk tie, looking up as Kate shimmered into the room.

“Hello, Vincent.”

“Kate. How is Neal?”

“He’s…trying. I keep tempting him and he keeps resisting. But he’ll give in. He’s falling in love with me.” She smiled. “It’s only a matter of time.”

“Good. That boy is very special, Kate. If we can’t turn him to darkness…he’ll have to die.”

“I understand.” She smiled, her wide blue eyes terrifyingly blank.

“That’s my girl.”

Chapter Text

“This place is a dump,” Chris said, staring at the apartment building. “Scabber demons live in nicer places.”

Paige rolled her eyes. “Come on.”

The boys followed Paige into the apartment building. She’d managed three flights of stairs when her phone rang.

“Paige here.” She listened quietly. “Really? Okay. Thanks, Pheebs.”

“What did Aunt Phoebe want?” Wyatt asked.

“She had a premonition.” Paige frowned. “Come on, I have a feeling our conman is close.”

They continued up the stairs. The dank building was more than depressing. Water dripped from cracks in the ceiling and there was a sort of odor that was more than must. Despair? Chris hadn’t known that had a smell before now.

Paige continued down a hall, brow furrowing as they passed one apartment. She stopped and back up. “This is it.”

“How do you know?” Wyatt asked.

“Premonition.” She smiled. “Trust me.” She glanced at the door and then at the boys. “First, we knock. If he does something magicky then we grab him and put him in the crystal cage.”

“Okay.”

“Wyatt, you go knock, Chris and I will stay out of sight for the moment.”

“Got it.”

Wyatt waited until the others were out of sight until he knocked on the door.

Inside the apartment, Neal raised his eyebrows. Most people didn’t knock on his door. In fact, the only people who did knock were the landlord and the lady down the hall who made casseroles. Too many casseroles. He was pretty sure he still had one in his fridge. He sighed and pushed himself off the couch and padded over to the door, peering out the peephole. He didn’t recognize the kid outside his door but Neal had the strangest feeling…like he ought to.

He put the chain on and opened the door a peak. “Can I help you?”

Wyatt smiled. “Hi, I’m Wyatt. I’m moving in down the hall.”

“Trying to meet the neighbors?”

“Something like that.”

Chris rolled his eyes and glanced at Paige.

“Look,” Wyatt continued, “I was just wondering if maybe you were a witch?”

“Seriously?” Chris hissed.

Paige shook her head in exasperation.

Neal blinked. “I’m sorry you…are you crazy or something?”

“No, not at all.”

Chris shook his head and walked over to his brother. “I’m sorry about him, he was dropped on his head as a child.”

“Right.” Neal made to shut the door, but Chris stopped him. “Look, I need to go and—”

Chris frowned, spotting something on the table he could just see behind the other teenager. “Is that a scrying crystal?”

Neal blinked. “No?”

“It is, isn’t it?” Chris pushed. “You’re a witch, aren’t you?”

Neal frowned. “Uh—you’re crazy.”

“Am I?” Chris waved his hand slightly, shoving the door open.

Neal slid back, eyes widening. He swallowed and reached out, grabbing Chris’s arm. The premonition came in a blink.

It was a dark room; like the ones he’d seen before. A man with pale eyes and dark hair, staring at him.

“Neal, don’t worry,” he said, reaching out to put a hand on Neal’s shoulder. “Everything is going to be all right.”

Neal blinked out of the vision and stared at Chris.

“You had a premonition,” Wyatt said. “I know that look.”

“Stay the hell away from me!” Neal snapped before shimmering out of view.

The brothers blinked, looking back at their aunt in confusion. “Is it just me or was that a demonic power?” Chris asked.

“Yes it was,” Phoebe said. A witch with a demon’s power? That was unusual. More importantly, seeing Neal in person gave her a distinct impression of familiarity. “Don’t worry, we’ll scry for him again.”

Chris frowned. “He had a premonition, Paige. Let’s search his apartment.”

“Fine.”

Paige sighed. None of this was going to plan, but at least they knew the kid had powers. She let the boys search while she called Elizabeth with the news.

***

Elizabeth snapped the phone shut and wrinkled her nose.

“Was that Paige?” Peter asked.

“It was.” El smiled. “So…your boy is a witch.”

“Great.”

“Paige is going to track him down we’ll trap him and talk to him.”

“I’m guessing my presence won’t be required?”

“You’d be right.” El grinned. “We just want to talk to him and find out who he really is and then we’ll see what happens after that.”

“I want to arrest him, El.” Peter gave his wife a significant look. “He’s a criminal.”

“We’ll see, Peter.”

“Uh huh.” He grimaced. “If he’s a bad egg, I’m arresting him.”

“Sure thing hon.”

***

Paige wasn’t planning on taking any chances this time, she went and got her sisters. Whoever Neal’s parents were, the whole demon/witch hybrid was a concern.

“So, how are we going to trap this kid?” Piper asked. They’d taken up residence in the Burke’s living room. Peter was only mildly concerned by this development. The boys took the opportunity to play with Satchmo in the backyard.

“Well, if he’s part demon I might be able to freeze him but the best plan is to grab crystals and trap him. Has he ever hurt anyone?” Piper asked.

“No.” Peter shook his head. “He’s scrupulously non-violent.”

“Well at least there’s that,” Phoebe said.

“Chris says he had a premonition, that’s what spooked him,” Paige said. “I mean, how many witch-demons are there?”

“Well, I married a demon once,” Phoebe said. “It can’t be that uncommon. Anyway, it looks like he’s finally settled.” She pointed at the map they’d been scrying with. “I know that park.”

“He’s trying to stay in a public place to avoid us,” Piper remarked. “Clever. But we’ll just freeze everyone if that’s what it comes to. Then it’s probably best if we bind his powers until we know if he’s good or not.”

“And if he is good we reverse the spell.” Paige looked at her sister. “Right?”

“Of course. Unless he has to go to prison.”

Paige shook her head.

“How do you want to do this then?” El asked. “My astral projection is useful in a pinch but…”

“We’ll orb in, surround the kid. I’ll freeze the park, we’ll grab him and come back here.” Piper nodded. “You stay with the crystals and watch the boys. Especially Chris he…wanders.”

“Okay, whatever you need.” El nodded.

“Thanks Elizabeth,” Paige said.

“Maybe I can get a premonition to help,” Phoebe said. “Hand me that scrying crystal you took from the apartment.”

“Sure.” Paige passed the crystal to her sister.

Phoebe felt a shock go through her as the crystal touched her skin.

It was a dark room. A young man stood in front of someone she knew—it was Cole. What was Cole doing in a vision? He was dead. Cole put a hand on the teenager’s shoulder.

“Everything is going to be all right,” Cole said. “Your mom loves you. So much.” Cole smiled. “She did what she did to protect you.”

Phoebe gasped, dropping the crystal.

“What did you see?” Piper asked, concern etched on her face.

“I…” Phoebe shook her head. “It’s not important right now. Let’s go.”

“Okay, let’s go catch a criminal.”

***

Neal paced in front of the fountain. He wasn’t sure who those kids had been, but he wasn’t sure where to go now. He couldn’t go back to his apartment. What was he supposed to do now?

“Neal, are you okay? Your message was weird.” Kate hurried over to him.

“I had a run-in with some other witches. Two kids my age.” He shook his head. “I had a premonition.”

“We should go to Adler right now,” Kate said. “What if they’re here to take you away?”

“I don’t think there’s a magical social services, Kate.” Neal shook his head. “It was just weird. I don’t know. They weren’t evil or anything.”

“You can’t be too careful.”

“I’m not going to Adler, not yet.” He exhaled. “I just—I need to figure out what this premonition means first.”

“I don’t like the idea of you staying out the open with the FBI and witches looking for you.” She shook her head and opened her mouth to saying something else—and then froze.

“Kate?” He waved his hand in front of her face, but she still didn’t move. He looked around but everyone was frozen.

Orb lights appeared, along with three women he didn’t recognize.

“Who are you?”

Before he knew what was happening, they began to chant.

We bind this boy

From his power

Until a more

Convenient hour

Neal tried to shimmer but found himself unable to do so. “What did you do?” He gaped. "Who are you?"

“The Charmed Ones. We grounded you,” Piper said. “Until we know who and what you are.”

Paige grabbed his arm. “And now you’re coming with us.”

“Wait, did you say you’re the Charmed Ones?”

“Yes.”

“What do you want with me?”

“You’ll see.”

Neal decided that orbing and shimmering were definitely not anything alike about five seconds later when they reappeared in what appeared to be a tidy craft room. His legs felt wobbly and his stomach churned.

“Ugh.” He shook his head. “Where are we?”

“My house,” Peter said from the doorway. “Hello, Neal.”

“Agent Burke. Well, you gonna arrest me then?”

“Haven’t decided yet.”

The sisters quickly placed the crystals around Neal, trapping him in an energy cage. The boy grimaced.

“I don’t see how that is necessary when you bound my powers,” he snapped.

“It might wear off,” Phoebe replied. “I’m Phoebe. This is Paige and Piper. You know Agent Burke.”

“And I know Elizabeth, by reputation.” Neal glanced at Peter’s wife. “I suppose the two kids that were at my apartment belong to one of you?”

“Me,” Piper said. “My sons.”

“Ah.” Neal huffed and took a seat, unwilling to stand for questioning. “You know, I’m not evil or anything.”

“Oh? What’s with the shimmering then?” Paige raised her eyebrows.

“I’m not evil,” Neal protested again. “I can prove it. Mozzie! Mozzie I need you!”

The whitelighter orbed in, clearly not expecting the room full of witches. “What did you do this time, Neal?”

“Mozzie, just tell them I’m not evil, please.”

“Well—you’re mostly not evil.”

“Gee thanks.”

“You’re his whitelighter?” Paige asked. “Aren’t you that guy who thinks the Elders brainwash people?”

“No.” Mozzie shook his head. “But I do know who you three are. The Charmed Ones. What did you do, Neal?”

“I didn’t do anything! They just showed up.”

“Look, my charge might be a bit…morally grey, but you can’t just kidnap him. And just because he’s part demon doesn’t make him evil.”

“Thanks, Mozzie, that’s a rousing endorsement.”

The little man shrugged.

“Where are your parents?” Piper asked.

Neal shrugged. “My adoptive parents were mortal. I ran away from home as soon as I could. I don’t know who my birth parents are. Obviously I got my powers from them but…” He shook his head.

“Premonitions,” Phoebe prompted.

“Yeah.” He shrugged again. “Do whatever you want. Bind my powers permanently, send me prison. Whatever.”

Phoebe swallowed. “No. We’re not doing that.”

Piper turned to her sister, eyebrow raised. “Oh?”

“He’s a good kid. He’s put magic at risk of discovery, yes. He’s been using it for personal gain—most likely but it’s not like he’s had anyone other than his whitelighter to help him. We could help him.”

“He belongs in prison,” Peter said.

“No,” Phoebe snapped.

“Phoebe,” Paige said gently. “Is this about the premonition you had? Does something bad happen to Neal if he goes to prison?”

Phoebe swallowed. “Move the crystal, Paige, I want to touch him.”

“Okay.” Paige held out her hand. “Crystal.”

The crystal orbed into her hand, disrupting the field. Phoebe closed in on the teenager, kneeling next to him. “Give me your hand, Neal.”

“Why?”

“I have premonitions too.”

He frowned in suspicion.

“And I want to help.”

“Go ahead, Neal,” Mozzie prompted.

“Fine.” He put his hand in hers.

And they were both thrown in a vision.

***

Neal and Phoebe found themselves together in a round room. They were alone for a moment but from a cloud of gray dust a man formed.

“Cole,” Phoebe breathed. “How are you here?”

“This is sort of a vision, but not really,” Cole replied. “I’m more of an echo than a reality.”

“I don’t understand,” Neal said.

“You couldn’t see the whole vision,” Cole said. “Until you were together. And now you are.”

“I don’t understand,” Neal repeated. “Who are you? Why I have been seeing you?”

“Neal, don’t worry,” Cole said, reaching out to put a hand on Neal’s shoulder. “Everything is going to be all right. Your mom loves you. So much.” Cole smiled. “She did what she did to protect you.” Cole smiled. “You need to see what happened. Both of you.” He held out a hand to Phoebe. “Trust me just this one time, Phoebe.”

She took a breath, shaking before she reached out and took his hand.

The vision shifted to the Manor, a vision of the past.

“No one can see us,” Cole said. “Just watch.”

They were in Phoebe’s old room. As they watched, a younger Phoebe walked into the bedroom, hair pulled back from her tear-streaked face, hand on her stomach.

“You were grieving for me—and for the baby.”

“I thought there was no hope,” Phoebe replied, glancing at her ex-husband.

“Someone did.”

Neal stayed silent, uncertain.

There was a glimmer of golden light and out of that light an elderly man with a white beard in grayish robes appeared.

“Hello, Phoebe.”

Younger Phoebe sniffed, turning toward the man. “Why are you here?”

“Your son, this is not what he was meant for. The Seer meddled with Destiny and I cannot allow that.” The man stepped forward, brushing a gentle hand against her cheek. “Your son deserves his life.”

Younger Phoebe hiccupped, hand going to her stomach. “What was that?”

“Your son.” The man smiled. “Two months along, just as he’s meant to be. Full of potential and the possibility of goodness.”

“He’s okay?”

“He is.” The man’s smile turned sad. “Unfortunately, the rest of the world must continue to believe he is dead. Evil will try to corrupt him at every turn. He must be invisible. Unknown.”

“You mean I can’t raise him myself?”

“No—and I am sorry.”

She took a shaking breath. “Will I ever see him again?”

“If he is good—you will see him.” The man smiled. “Perhaps even sooner than you might think.”

“Where will he go?”

“To a normal family. Where he will be safe.”

“I…I don’t want to lose him.”

“I know. But you can’t keep him.”

“He’s an Angel of Destiny,” Phoebe said softly. “He brought my baby back but…I wasn’t allowed to keep him.”

“I’m so sorry, Phoebe,” Cole said.

The vision changed again—to a hospital room. Younger Phoebe was resting, a small bundle in her arms and a small smile on her face. “Hi baby,” she whispered. “Hi.” She licked her lips. “Benjamin Peter Halliwell. That’s you.” She stroked the outline of his cheek with a finger. “That’s you.”

Neal froze, tears rolling down his cheeks.

The man appeared again in the same glitter of light. “I’m sorry Phoebe, it’s time.”

“No.” She shook her head. “No.”

“I am so sorry.”

The vision changed again. They were outside a house with a low porch and toys scattered in the front yard. A little boy sat on the steps, blue eyes rimmed red and dark hair tousled. His shirt was torn. He sniffed.

“That’s me,” Neal whispered. “It’s the day I met Mozzie.”

The strange man walked up to the boy from the sidewalk and smiled. “Hey there, kid. What’s your name?”

“Danny.”

“Well Danny, I’m Mozzie. I’m here to keep you safe. Okay?”

Danny wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Why?”

“Because you’re special.” Mozzie smiled.

Phoebe swallowed and glanced over at Neal. “Where are we?”

“St. Louis. Foster-home.” Neal shook his head. “My adoptive parents, the Brooks. They died.”

“Oh.”

He shrugged. “I ran away when I turned thirteen.” He looked back at her. “I never thought that…I mean you wanted me.”

“I wanted to keep you so much,” Phoebe said, choking back tears. “So much.”

“And you,” Neal looked at Cole, “You were my dad, weren’t you?”

“Yes.” Cole nodded. “Ex-husband.”

“I can feel what you felt,” Neal said. “I’ve never done that before.”

“Empathy,” Phoebe said. “I have that power too.” She smiled.

Neal bit down on his lip, eyes red. “I can feel—I can feel how much you love me.”

She put aside any pretense of distance, pulling him into her arms. He was a bit taller than her now, and would no doubt tower over her entirely one day, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to hold her little boy.

“I love you so much. I won’t let anything happen to you. Never again.” She leaned back brushing tears from his face. “Never again.”

“It’s time,” Cole said. “You’ve seen everything you need to see—for now.”

Phoebe nodded. “Thank you.”

“Keep our son safe, please.” Cole swallowed.

“I will.”

***

Neal and Phoebe woke up back in Elizabeth’s craft room, tears streaking both of their faces. The sisters, Peter, and El stood silent.

“Oh, my baby,” Phoebe said. “My baby.” She pulled Neal into her arms. “You got so big.”

“Um, Phoebe?” Paige queried. “What’s going on?”

Phoebe shook her head. “This is my son. Cole and my son.” She looked back at her sisters. “The Angel of Destiny came to me after we defeated the Seer. He fixed things but…”

“You weren’t allowed to keep me,” Neal finished. He pulled back and looked at Mozzie. “Did you know who I was?”

Mozzie shook his head. “Above my paygrade. They just said you were special.”

“Hold up,” Peter said. “He’s your son?”

Phoebe nodded. “And I can’t let you arrest him. He’s been through…I’ll take him home and we’ll keep him out of trouble. Paige’s husband is a cop. A parole officer. He can make sure he stays out trouble.”

Neal swallowed.

“And so what, Neal Caffrey just vanishes again?”

Neal bit his lip. “That’s not my name.” He swallowed, looking at Phoebe, the love she felt still resonating inside him. “My name is Ben. My…my mom named me Ben.”

Phoebe took a shuddered breath and nodded. “I did.”

Peter sighed. “I can’t just…”

“Peter,” El put a hand on her husband’s chest, “this isn’t…you might have let this go. Let him go.”

“He’s a criminal.”

“I only stole things to survive. And I only stole from people who could afford it. A bank can afford to cash a few fake bonds. They have insurance.”

Phoebe raised her eyebrow at his stellar defense. “Not helping,” she said.

“Right.”

“I promise,” El said, “Paige and her sisters can keep him on the straight and narrow.”

Peter grimaced. “Fine. Then I want a name.”

“What name?” Neal asked, eyes slightly wide.

“I want to know who told you to steal that Raphael. It was a commissioned job, I know it was. I want the name. You give me that and never pull another con—I’ll let you go.” He gritted out the last four words with difficulty.

Neal considered carefully. He still had a life here. Kate was here. But…he couldn’t imagine a time when he didn’t wonder about his family. His roots. It’s why he started using fake names. No name had ever felt right. No name had ever been his. Until now. He swallowed. If he gave Peter Adler’s name, there was no telling what Adler would do to him. On the other hand, he did have another name he could give Peter. Someone not quite as dangerous but someone who definitely needed to be off the streets.

“Matthew Keller.” Keller’s involvement with the heist had been periphery at best, but still, it was a name.

Peter raised his eyebrows. “Okay.”

“I’ll go get the boys,” Piper said. She glanced at Neal. “You do look like your father.” She frowned for a moment. “But you look like Phoebe too, Ben.”

Neal swallowed his nerves. “Thanks.”

Piper nodded and headed out of the room.

Neal eyed Peter nervously. The fed looked irritated but resigned.

“Well, I should head out,” Mozzie said. “Neal, Ben—whatever, I will see you later.” He orbed out.

“You’ll have to forgive Mozzie, he’s a bit paranoid,” Neal/Ben said. “Well, really paranoid.”

Phoebe made a face. “A paranoid whitelighter. Great.” She pushed hair out of Neal’s face. “Is there anything you need to pick up from your apartment?”

He shrugged. “Clothes?”

“Okay. Paige and I will go with you and we’ll pack.”

He nodded.

“I know this is fast,” Phoebe said softly, “but I have to protect you.”

Neal glanced at Peter. “I appreciate that.”

Paige narrowed her eyes at her newest nephew, pursing her lips. “Just so we’re clear, you start doing anything evil and your powers will be bound permanently.”

“I understand.”

“Good. Then let’s go. Thanks again, El.”

“Not a problem, tell Henry I said hello.”

“I will.” Paige hugged her cousin-in-law with a smile. “And I will send you updates on the delinquent for your husband’s peace of mind.”

Neal rolled his eyes but refrained from commenting.

And this, was only the beginning.

Chapter Text

The second time orbing wasn’t any better than the first for Neal. The packing didn’t take all that long. Neal didn’t really have a whole lot of stuff outside of art supplies and clothes. Out of respect for the deal they’d struck with Peter, he left his illegal goods behind.

The third orbing trip was even less pleasant for Neal, and he was determined to never do it again if at all possible. As Phoebe walked her son into the Manor’s living room, she filled him in on the basics of the Halliwell family. Piper, having arrived first, arranged a family meeting, so the living room was pretty much packed.

Leo sat next to his wife and sons, their daughter Melinda hovering off to one side with Phoebe’s and Paige’s daughters. Henry was talking to Coop in low tones while keeping one eye on Henry Jr. Phoebe was a bit surprised they hadn’t brought Grams into this as well, for support or something. But knowing Grams, she’d find out about her newest great-grandson before too long anyway.

Phoebe kept an arm slung around Neal for moral support and got them a place on the love seat. His face didn’t show any concern, but she could feel him tremble under her hands. Not that she could really blame him. It was a lot for one person to handle in a day. While his Empathy seemed to be dampened now that they were out of the vision, she was sure he was picking up the tension in the room regardless.

“I think we’re all here now,” Piper said, calling everyone’s attention. “The adults need the room for a bit, kids.”

Chris shot his mother a look which she returned with a skeptically raised eyebrow.

Neal felt all of their eyes on him, mostly curious, as the kids headed out of the living room—no doubt taking up prime eavesdropping positions outside the room. He squirmed a bit as the adults turned their full attention toward him, swallowing sharply.

“Introductions are in order I think,” Phoebe started. “You already met Piper and Paige, that’s Piper’s husband Leo,” Leo waved, “Paige’s husband Henry,” Henry gave him an appraising sort of look Neal had come to expect from law enforcement, “and my husband, Coop.”

Coop smiled reassuringly.

“Hi,” Neal managed.

“And this is my son.” Phoebe bit her lip.

“Ben.” Neal, or rather Ben, couldn’t help the final affirmation of his decision. “Ben.”

“Benjamin Peter Halliwell,” Phoebe elaborated.

“So, I understand you’ve made a name for yourself in New York,” Henry said. “Forgery. Theft.”

Neal/Ben shrugged. “I survived.”

“And you have a whitelighter assigned to you?” Leo asked.

“Mozzie, yeah. Since I was five.”

Leo nodded. “Good.”

“I think it’s probably best if we go over our expectations here,” Piper said. “You are family, Ben, but you have a history that we can’t ignore.” She managed a smile. “And a bloodline.”

“So what if I’m part demon? I have friends that are demons. You can’t judge someone just because of their parentage,” Ben snapped.

Piper raised her eyebrows. “You have demonic friends.”

He shrugged. “A couple.”

“Well, it’s probably a good idea if you don’t see them for a while. You know, until you’ve settled in,” Piper said.

“Not that we want you to not talk to your friends,” Phoebe assured him. “We’d just like to meet them.”

“Okay…I guess.”

“Good.”

“On to the mortal concerns then,” Henry clapped, “I am a cop, Ben.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

The dark haired man smiled. “I figured. Your days of crime are over. Clear? And until we know for certain that you won’t run off or do something stupid, you get to wear this.” He held up a gray electronic cuff. “Tracking device.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Henry gave him a look. “GPS can track you down within ten feet so, be good.” He walked over to the boy and knelt down to put the cuff on his ankle. Ben didn’t protest. For one thing, he was mildly terrified and for another, once he had his powers back there wasn’t really anything to stop him from shimmering out of the damn thing. “Is that too tight or anything?” Henry prompted.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Good.” Henry stood back up and took a seat next to his wife on the other couch.

“As for your powers…” Piper looked at Phoebe for a moment before putting her attention back on Ben. “I’m pretty sure you’ve been using them to help you commit crimes.”

“Not all the time. Just when the cops got too close. I did all those forgeries by hand. I don’t cheat on that stuff.”

“An ethical thief.” Paige smiled. “Funny.”

“Hey, I forged a bond that no one has ever forged and they didn’t know it was a forgery for months. It was a masterpiece.” Ben defended. “I take pride in my art.”

Paige blinked. “Maybe you can put that work ethic into…original art?”

He shrugged. “That didn’t exactly put food on the table.” His expression was decidedly closed off again.

“No more forgeries, no more crimes and no abuse of magic. Period.” Piper narrowed her gaze. “I don’t think that’s asking too much?”

Ben shook his head. “No. It’s not asking too much.”

“Good.”

Phoebe took his hand. “Once you’ve settled in a bit, we’ll talk about other things. Like school?”

Ben shrugged.

“Okay,” Coop said. “I think he’s tapped out. Why don’t we take Ben and the girls home, Phoebe? I bet he’s hungry.”

Phoebe smiled gratefully at her husband. “Good idea.”

***

Ben couldn’t help his unease. The girls, all three of them, were staring at him as he fidgeted on the couch. He guessed the oldest, who had introduced as PJ, was twelve or thirteen while the other two, Parker and Penelope were nine or ten. He couldn’t help notice Parker and he shared the same blue eyes. All three looked a great deal like their mother and he could feel a low-level hum of excitement coming from them in waves.

He was glad that this new found power wasn’t at full strength yet, or the emotions would probably be overwhelming. Never mind his general concern that he was using this power at all given that they'd bound his powers. Maybe because it manifested after they did the binding? Or maybe the spell just wasn't strong enough.

“We ordered Chinese,” Coop said as he walked into the living room. “I hope that’s okay.”

“I love Chinese,” Ben replied. “Thanks.”

Coop smiled and glanced at the girls with raised eyebrows. “Sorry about them. Halliwell women, they’re very nosy.”

PJ rolled her eyes. “Dad.”

Coop grinned at his eldest daughter. “It’s true.” He turned back to Ben. “While we’re waiting, how about I show you to your room?”

“Um. Okay.” Ben got to his feet, staring somewhat awkwardly at the incredibly tall man. He wasn’t imposing precisely, but Ben couldn’t help a bit of nerves around someone so much bigger than he was.

“Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

Ben blinked.

“I’m empathic too.” Coop smiled. “Come on, kid.”

Ben followed Coop upstairs. They bypassed a couple doors marked Parker and Penelope, as PJ’s room was downstairs.

“And this is your room, your mom and I are just across the hall though, so if you need anything just knock.”

“Okay.”

Coop pushed open the other door. “It’s not much, but I figure you can make it your own.” He waved Ben into the room after turning on the light.

After a moment, the teenager headed inside. The walls were green and it was somewhat obvious the furniture had been gathered from family discards. But there was a bed, a dresser, and a desk. His duffel bag, packed from the apartment, was sitting on the bed. He was happy to see that the sheets were just plain white rather than anything with cartoon characters on them.

“This is—thanks.” Ben managed a smile. “It’s nicer than my apartment was. No leaks.”

Coop smiled. “Or rats.”

Coop noticed the first genuine smile he’d seen all day grace Ben’s face. He felt bad for the kid. Everything was happening so fast and there was so much to adjust to. But Ben was a Halliwell, and they were made of stern stuff. He’d manage.

“Well, you settle in and I’ll come get you when dinner is here.”

“Okay.”

Coop headed into the hall, leaving Ben alone for the first time since he’d arrived.

Ben sighed and went for the bag. Kate was going to kill him. He felt a bit off, putting his clothes away in the dresser—settling in. He’d never really settled in anywhere after the Brooks died. His foster-family had been home to a half-dozen other kids he couldn’t seem to get along with. He’d started his whole criminal enterprise at the tender age of eight when he forged a bus pass to get to school on time because the regular school bus didn’t pass by the house.

By the time he was thirteen, he was ready to leave. Already taller than most of his peers, he found it was pretty easy to pass as a bit older even with his baby face. Plenty of guys looked like they were younger than eighteen even when they were. Which was when he started forging ID’s in earnest. Once he had driver’s licenses down, he forged his first adult ID and became Nick Halden, leaving Danny Brooks behind and heading to Philadelphia.

He didn’t spend much time there, but spending his days in the museums as a way to keep out of the cold introduced him to a love of art that went down to his bones. After that, it was all history, as they say. He got into some trouble in Philly, became Neal Caffrey, and headed for the city with the biggest and best museums he could find—New York. Then he met Kate while running three card monte in the park. When she saw his sketchbooks and IDs, she’d managed to convince him to try his hand at more intricate forgeries to supplement his income.

He hadn’t really looked back. Hadn’t questioned it. He never questioned Kate. He—He really cared about Kate. She cared about him.

As he reached the bottom of the bag, he found some of the odds and ends he’d stuffed in. There, amongst his deodorant and a couple fake IDs he’d smuggled in (His aunts might be witches, but he’d been an expert at sleight of hand since he was twelve.) was a picture of him and Kate at a carnival. She was smiling, eyes bright, holding that stupid rabbit he won for her at ring toss. He smiled, running a finger along her face.

“I’ll see you again, Kate. Promise.”

***

Back in New York

Kate was hesitant, chewing on her lip as she waited outside Adler’s office for him to finish his business. He wasn’t going to be happy with her—but this wasn’t her fault. How was she supposed to expect a powerful witch to show up and steal Neal away?

After a good quarter of an hour, Adler buzzed her into the office.

“So, what’s this situation, you called about?” he asked, steepling his hands.

“Neal is missing. He called me in a panic and we met at the park. We were talking and then—a witch froze me. They grabbed Neal and orbed away. I haven’t been able to find him.” She raised her chin, trying not to reveal her nerves.

Adler’s face flashed with anger. “What?”

Kate flinched.

“You find me that witch, Kate.” He stood. “Or you’ll find out exactly what happens to people who fail me.”

She nodded hastily and shimmered out.

***

Dinner was emotionally exhausting, not that Ben could really blame any of these people for hovering. He’d seen what his mother went through. He’d felt it. He could still feel some of it. Excitement, love, worry…from all sides. He excused himself and went to bed a bit after eight. With the time difference and all, he’d been up for hours longer than usual and he was ready to drop off but first…first he needed to talk to Mozzie. Paranoid and odd his whitelighter might be but still, Mozzie was his whitelighter. He was there for Neal—for Ben. Always.

“Okay kid, tell me what’s going on in that head of yours,” Mozzie said softly. “I can see the gears spinning.”

“This is all—it’s a lot Moz. And with a new power on top of it?” He shook his head. “It’s not as strong as it was when I was having the vision with…with my mom but it’s still there. I can feel what everyone else is feeling.” He blinked and realized there were tears in his eyes. “It’s this buzz in my head that won’t go away.”

“Lucky for you, your mom and Coop are empaths. Of course, he’s a cupid so that comes with the territory.”

“He’s a cupid?” Ben blinked. “Wow.”

“Yeah. It’s okay, you haven’t exactly had the best magical training. I didn’t expect you to recognize what he was on your own.”

Ben shrugged.

“You know all these kids go to Magic School, right?” Mozzie gave his charge an assessing look. “You’ll get control of that new power a lot faster if you start taking your magic seriously. With school.”

“I hated school when it was just normal school, Moz. It’s boring.”

“Hey, genius, just because regular school was boring doesn’t mean Magic School will be. You could make some friends. Non-demon friends. Figure out what you really want to do with your life. Start tapping into all of that potential.”

Ben sighed. “My powers are still mostly bound, Moz. Who says they won’t just leave them that way? Finish the job? Decide I’m too much my father’s son to risk letting loose on the world?”

Mozzie shook his head. “You’ve done a lot of good. I bet you didn’t even tell them what you’ve been doing with the money, did you?”

Ben shook his head, hair flopping in front of his face.

“Maybe you should. Your moral compass might not point true north, but that doesn’t mean the good you have done is worthless. Sure, conning a bank out of their money to give that money to sick kids is probably a morally gray area but it was still good.”

“I broke the law, Moz.” Ben shifted, pulling his legs up onto the bed. “They aren’t going to care why.” He took a deep breath. “What am I going to do about Kate?”

“Clean break?” Mozzie suggested archly. He laughed nervously at the dark look that settled over Ben’s face. “Or not. Look, you need to get a handle on your power and all of this, first. If Kate really cares, she’ll wait.”

“But I just vanished. She’ll be worried.”

“Then I’ll pass a message along, okay?”

“Really?”

“I promise.” Mozzie smiled. “Be good.”

“Good. Right.” Ben watched his whitelighter orb away with a skeptical look. “Just be good.” He wasn’t entirely sure he knew what that meant in this context. If he didn’t walk the straight and narrow, Henry would be on him in a flash and probably Peter Burke too. But he’d spent so long living his life his way and itchy fingers didn’t exactly go away overnight. He still had four active identities the feds didn’t know about. If he had to, he could run but…he wasn’t so sure he wanted to. He wasn’t sure what he wanted exactly.

But even as he tumbled through a thousand possibilities, he kept finding himself back at that feeling. That overwhelming sense of being wanted, being loved. He didn’t want to lose that.

There was a soft knock on the door and then Phoebe called out, “Ben?”

“Uh, come in,” he said.

Phoebe pushed open the door. “Hey there. Tired?”

“A bit.”

“I know this is crazy. This family is always crazy.” She smiled. “But it’s going to be okay. Tomorrow we’ll play by ear. I don’t want to push anything on you too fast.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“And don’t worry about Piper and Paige, they didn’t really get along with Cole and they see him in you.” Her smile turned wry. “Cole was good at not getting along with them.”

“What—what was he like?” Ben licked his lips.

“He was protective, smart and he really loved me. He loved you too.” She sighed. “Cole may have done a lot of terrible things but in the end he sacrificed himself for me.” She smiled sadly. “That’s who he was. I wish you could have met him. The real him, not vision him.”

“Me too.” He couldn’t help the hitch in his voice.

Phoebe hesitated for a fraction of a second before coming into the room and taking a seat next to Ben, pulling him into her arms as he started to cry. “It’s okay, baby.”

He wasn’t even sure why he was crying precisely. The stress of the day? The reflected pain he felt from Phoebe about Cole? His own grief? “I don’t know why I’m crying,” he managed.

“It’s been a long day, sweetheart.” She stroked his hair gently. “You have every right to cry.”

Ben curled up closer to her, taking comfort in the warmth and the smell of her perfume. It made him feel safe. “I know I—I’m probably not the kid you thought I’d be,” he said after a stretch. “I’m just not really family material.”

“That’s not true.” She leaned back, looking into his eyes. “You have a good heart; I can feel that. No matter what happens next, you are my son and I love you.” She brushed the hair from his face with a fond smile. “We’ll figure out a little bit, day by day. As a family. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Chapter Text

A couple weeks later

Ben quickly discovered that having three sets of authority figures was somewhat exhausting and definitely more than enough to keep him out of trouble. They were ever-present. He spent some days with Piper, as she was home most often and managed to buy a bit of goodwill by helping her with some baking. He was trying to get to know his cousins but there were so many of them.

Mostly, he liked to sit in the back yard and sketch. He drew Cole from memory, trying to trace the origin of his own features in a way. He’d figured out early on after he started getting premonitions that he could recall more details if he drew. Sometimes, rarely, he would draw something off the cuff, only to see it later. Mozzie was pretty sure it was an advancement of his precognitive ability, but Ben had never had anyone to really tell him one way or another.

Mozzie wasn’t really the nurturing or instructive type. Ben wasn’t really sure how long Mozzie had even been a whitelighter.

At the moment, he was taking advantage of the afternoon sun to draw in the yard while Piper was working on some new recipes for her restaurant. He wasn’t really sure what he was drawing. He’d sketched some of the yard and trees, but now—the lines were a mess. He frowned, tapping his pencil against the paper. He didn’t even consider his power being at work, his powers were still bound after all. He hadn't gotten a single premonition, though the low-level thrum of his somehow working empathy was still there.

“Ben, Coop is here to pick you up!” Piper called from the door.

“Coming!” He gathered his things, taking a moment to look at the drawing again. It was definitely a book.

“Something wrong?” Piper asked as he approached. “You're frowning.”

He glanced up at her. “No, just—I’m not sure why I drew this.” He flipped the book over and showed her the page. “I’ve never seen it before.”

Piper frowned. “Never?”

He shook his head. “I mean; I’ve drawn things I’ve never seen before…before but I don’t have powers right now so…” He shrugged.

Piper’s look turned contemplative. “I want to show you something.”

“Okay.” He saw Coop when they walked into the house. “I’ll be right there. Piper wants to show me something.”

“That’s fine.” Coop smiled. “I can wait.”

“Thanks.” Ben followed Piper up the stairs and into the attic. He’d never actually been up here before. It hadn’t been off limits or anything but he’d felt somehow that he’d be intruding. It was cozy, filled with remnants of different people, and obviously a place where magic was worked. The windows had the same sort of colored panes as those downstairs, and in the far end of the room was a pedestal.

“Over here, Ben,” Piper waved him towards the large green book resting on the pedestal.

He walked over to her, eyes widening when he got a good look at the book. “That’s it. That’s what I drew.”

She nodded. “And you’re sure you’ve never seen this before.”

“Never.” He blinked. “I don’t understand.”

“You said you’ve done things like this before. Drawn things.”

Ben nodded. “I assume it’s a part of my power of premonition. Or something.”

“Well, this is the Book of Shadows,” Piper smiled, “it’s been in the Halliwell family for generations. We each add to the book as we encounter new things.” She flipped through for a moment, stopping at a page with a spiky demon with a red and black face. “Balthazor, the other side to Cole Turner, your father.” She took a breath. “But you aren’t him. And he wasn’t…he had goodness in him.” Piper put a hand on Ben’s chin, tilting his head toward her. “I think the Book wanted you to see it. Powers or no.”

Ben swallowed. “It’s that powerful?”

“It’s something.” She let go of his chin. “I’m going to give you a chance, Ben. Don’t disappoint me. Don’t disappoint Phoebe.”

He nodded.

“Good.” She smiled. “Guided spirits, hear our plea, Annul this magic, Let it be.”

He recognized the glitter of magic as it settled over his shoulders and almost immediately, felt the flare of his powers inside him—and the full force of his Empathy, dampened more than removed by the binding, came back as strong as it had been in the vision. He could feel every nuance of Piper’s emotions. Worry, hope—a glimmer of trust.

He took a breath. “Wow.”

She frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Just—all the emotions from one person. I can’t even think about what it’s going to be like around the girls.” He shook his head.

“Your empathy was still working.” She raised her eyebrows. “I guess that spell isn’t as strong as I thought. Or, you’re stronger.”

He shrugged, rubbing his temples.

“I think it might be a good idea if you have an interview at Magic School,” Piper said gently. “Empathy can be very overwhelming.”

Ben swallowed. “I just—Mozzie wanted me to go but I…I was afraid.”

“Why would you be afraid?” Piper carefully put a hand on his arm.

“Because of my demonic powers. I’ve run into other witches before and…” he shook his head. “It’s never gone well.”

She frowned. “What happened?”

He chewed on his lip. “They—” he opened and closed his hands nervously. “They tried to kill me.” He tugged at his shirt, pulling the collar down to show her the splashy scar. “Vanquishing potion. Mozzie got there in the nick of time but…it left a mark.”

“Oh honey…” Piper shook her head and pulled him into a tight hug. “Don’t worry, we won’t let that happen again.”

He was tense under her embrace for several heartbeats before he finally relaxed and returned the hug. “Thanks—Aunt Piper.”

“You’re welcome.” She pulled back. “You should tell your mom what happened. And Coop. But tomorrow, you should go with Leo to Magic School.” She took a breath. “And I want the names of the witches that hurt you.”

“What good will that do?”

“They should be informed of their…mistake.” Her tone on the last word held a dangerous promise.

“Mozzie said they were from the McIntyre family? I just stayed clear of them—and Philadelphia.”

“Well I can’t blame you for that.” She squeezed his shoulder. “Now, be a good boy and don’t do anything dangerous or stupid.”

“Yes ma’am.” He nodded sharply and hurried downstairs to catch his ride home with Coop.

***

Telling his mom about the encounter with the McIntyre’s went over less well than it had with Piper. She was definitely upset, but toned it down when she noticed how her emotions were effecting Ben. She also agreed with Piper that he should go to Magic School with Leo for an interview.

He couldn’t argue with his mom and his aunt, so he reluctantly agreed.

And now he was alone in an office with Leo. Of the husbands, Leo was more imposing than Coop in terms of emotional impact, though Henry was definitely the one Ben was keeping an eye on. It was a force of habit, and no matter how nice the guy was, he was still a cop.

“Piper tells me she reversed the binding spell,” Leo said, perched on the edge of his desk, arms crossed.

Ben sat in front of him, a bit close for his own comfort. “Yeah.”

“She also said you’re having trouble with the Empathy.”

“It’s—a lot.” He’d had a migraine before dinner was over. “The girls are very…expressive.”

Leo smiled. “Yeah they are. Don’t worry, we can teach you to have more control over that.”

Ben nodded. “Did she tell you my premonitions extend to drawings?”

“She did. That’s an uncommon development for the power, but not unheard of.” He shifted a bit. “It doesn’t concern me as much as the Empathy though, I think your precognitive talents will continue developing pretty well on their own. Empathy can be dangerous. It can overwhelm the witch and it can develop into an offensive power.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “I don’t actually have any offensive powers, not even on my—my demon side.”

“What powers did you inherit from Cole?”

“I can shimmer, and sometimes I manage invisibility.” He licked his lips. “And suggestion.”

Leo raised his eyebrows. “Suggestion?”

“Sometimes. I’m not good at. I’ve managed it once. I got a cop to walk away from me.” Ben swallowed nervously. “But I would never hurt anyone with it.” He glanced up, meeting Leo’s gaze. “Never.”

“Suggestion isn’t good or evil by itself, Ben. It’s how you use it.” He stood up. “Okay, I think it’s best for now if you start taking mid-level classes. I saw your apartment, so I know you have some training. Was that Mozzie?”

“Yeah.” Ben nodded.

“Okay. I’ll get your schedule and we’ll see how it goes for a couple months and then we can see if you need to be moved up or down.”

“Okay.”

“You know, Ben, you don’t have to look so nervous all the time.”

“I can’t help it. Authority figures make me nervous.” He shrugged. “Force of habit when you’re wanted by the FBI.”

“Well, Neal Caffrey was wanted by the FBI. You aren’t Neal Caffrey anymore. Right?”

“Right.” He sighed. “For one things, Neal is a whole year older than me.”

“I noticed,” Leo smiled. “Although I’m pretty sure most of your aliases were eighteen, why go younger with Neal?”

“Why do guys do anything? A girl.” He smiled self-deprecatingly. “Kate wouldn’t date a younger man so I told her I was older.”

Leo shook his head. “Figures. You know, you are actually the oldest Halliwell cousin though. A month older than Wyatt.”

“Really?”

“Your birthday is in January, right?”

“January third.”

“A month older.” Leo smiled. “And I expect at some point you’ll find a way to use it against him.”

“Me? Never.” Ben shook his head, an ingenuous smile on his face.

Leo laughed. “Okay, let’s start your tour so you aren’t late for lunch.”

“Lunch?”

“With Henry.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“You look nervous again.”

Ben exhaled sharply. “Yeah, well, he is a cop.”

“You’ll be fine.”

Ben wasn’t so sure about that.

***

The diner was small enough not to be overwhelming. Ben ordered a burger and fries and tried to focus all of his attention of getting the perfect amount of ketchup on his plate. He couldn’t help nerves, cops always made him nervous. But at least there weren’t enough patrons at this time of day to send his Empathy into overdrive. He could tell the waitress was worried about something, stressed definitely and looking forward to getting off work later.

“So, how was school?” Henry asked.

Ben looked up at Henry. “Fine. I got a schedule and a tour.”

“Been staying out of trouble?”

“You’d know if I wasn’t.”

“I heard Piper ungrounded you.” Henry’s look was appraising. “How’s that going?”

“Fine.”

Henry raised his eyebrows. “You know, I do know that when someone says ‘fine’ that they don’t actually mean it.”

Ben shrugged. “There isn’t much to say.”

“Okay. Why don’t we talk about this then?” He reached into his bag and pulled out a file. He flipped it open, sliding it across the table. “Right after those bonds were cashed, a fund was set up by a Steve Tabernacle with nearly the same amount of money. A fund to pay the bills of pediatric patients.”

Ben shrugged again. “And?”

“Come on, Ben. I know it was you. The fund is managed by a very good firm and right after those last bonds were cashed—when the feds were closing in—they got another donation.”

Ben took a bite of his hamburger.

“Paige took me to see your old apartment. If you were actually spending all that money you took, somehow I think you would have a better place. Did you spend any of that money you got from the bonds?”

“No.”

“So how were you surviving?” Henry reached out, putting a hand on Ben’s wrist. “Really?”

“Three card monte, mostly,” Ben admitted. “Every once in a while I’d take a commission work but those were team efforts. I put most of that money into—” he paused, “into a nest egg. Just in case things got too hot in New York I had plans to run. South of France of something.” He chewed on his lip.

“How big is this nest egg?”

“Uh…why?”

“Benjamin.”

There was something about having someone say his whole name that made Ben sit up a bit straighter. Which was odd, as none of his other names had ever really had that effect on him. Probably something to do with the fact that this was his actual name. After a moment of eye contact he mumbled something incoherent that could have been a number.

“Benjamin.”

Ben flinched. “About two million dollars.” He looked down at his plate for an escape.

“We’ll need to figure out what to do with it.”

Ben looked back up. “What’s to do? It’s not like I can get to it. Not right now anyway. Besides, it’s in a Swiss bank, not even the feds can get to that.”

Henry shook his head. “You are very jaded.”

“Price of doing business.”

“Eat your lunch, I’m sure your mother would like to know her son has a Swiss bank account.”

“Ugh.”

Still, lunch could have gone worse. Henry could have asked if he had any other valuables stashed away—which of course he did. He was Neal Caffrey. Neal Caffrey had stashes. For insurance, of course.

***

Ben had settled into his room to some degree over the last couple weeks. Sketchbooks and watercolors were stacked up on the desk, a canvas and easel set in the corner nearest the window had a Monet started on the surface. He was a bit nervous about the next day. Actually starting school again. Even a non-traditional school. It was weird.

“Mozzie?” he called after a bit more brooding. “Mozzie?”

He waited several moments before calling again.

“Mozzie?”

“Mozzie!”

Nothing.

His heart beat quickened as panic started to set in. “Mozzie!”

“Ben?” there was a knock before his door opened for Coop. “Are you okay? You don’t feel okay.”

“Mozzie isn’t coming. I called him and he’s not coming.” Ben swallowed. “He’s never done that.”

Coop frowned, “I’ll call Paige. Maybe she can track him down. I’m sure he’s fine.” He walked into the room properly before calling. “Paige, we need you.”

The orbs appeared a few seconds later, reforming into the red-haired woman. She looked a bit ruffled. “What’s up?”

“Mozzie isn’t coming when I call for him,” Ben rushed. “I’m worried.”

Paige’s expression softened. “Don’t worry, Ben. I’ll go find him.” She put a hand on her nephew’s shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t panic.”

“Too late,” he admitted.

She smiled. “I’ll be back soon. Coop, you’ll stay with him?”

“Of course.”

Paige nodded and orbed out.

Coop put a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “Why don’t we go downstairs and wait for Paige? The girls are still out with Mom so we can watch TV or play cards?”

“Okay.”

He grabbed a sketchbook and followed Coop downstairs, settling in on the couch and zoning out a bit, sketching. He wasn’t really focused on any one thing; he just knew he needed to do something. Anything.

“Hey,” Coop said.

Ben looked up from his sketches. “What?”

“You zoned out, kid.” He pointed at the drawing. “Have you ever been to the Underworld?”

“No, why?”

“Because you just drew a pretty good likeness of it.”

In dark graphite, Ben had sketched out a sort of map of caverns and pits on one side of the page while there was a more detailed cavern opposite it. “Well, I do that sometimes,” Ben said.

“It’s a branch of Premonition, but I don’t really like the idea that you’re seeing the Underworld.”

“It could mean anything. Or nothing.” Ben shrugged. “It could be nothing.”

Coop opened his mouth to say something when the front door opened and the girls rushed in ahead of Phoebe.

“Hello, boys,” Phoebe said. “Watching—Antiques Roadshow?”

“Ben has a good eye for the fakes,” Coop said smoothly. “Girls, go hang out in the kitchen for a bit please.”

PJ frowned. “Why?”

“Because I asked you to.”

“Fine.” She frowned and walked away, Parker and Penelope at her heels.

“What’s going on?” Phoebe set her bag down and turned back to the boys. “Is everything okay?”

Ben shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“He tried calling for Mozzie earlier and he didn’t show. We have Paige tracking him down now,” Coop explained. “Show her what you drew.”

Ben frowned, but stood up to show his mother the sketches.

“This looks like the Underworld. Did you have a vision?”

He shook his head. “Just the sketch.”

“Okay, sit, we’re going to try something.”

They took a seat on the couch. Phoebe put a hand on the sketch and held out her other hand to Ben. After a moment’s hesitation, he took it.

It was dark. The vision took them to a cave, the one Ben had drawn in detail. Ben was almost certain that what they were seeing wasn’t in the future but rather—now. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was about it that made him feel that way.

“You can’t keep me here!”

“That’s Mozzie,” Ben said. “But I don’t see him.”

As they watched, a group of darklighters marched by, a captive Mozzie in their midst. He didn’t look injured but…Ben couldn’t help but wonder. What the hell are they doing with him?

He blinked, and found himself back on the couch with Phoebe.

His heart raced faster. “I have to go get him,” he said. “I have to—”

Phoebe took his hand. “You will stay here with Coop. Me and your aunts will go get Mozzie. Okay?”

“But—”

“Not buts,” she said firmly. “Your aunts and I will take care of this. Mozzie will be fine.”

Ben swallowed.

“Promise me you’ll stay put, Ben.”

He sighed. “I promise.”

“Good.”

Phoebe could feel his anger, worry and displeasure bubbling up, but she had hope he wouldn’t run off.

“Paige!” Phoebe called.

Her sister orbed in a few seconds later. “Sorry guys, I haven’t found anything yet about—”

“Ben had a vision, we need to get Piper and prep for darklighters.”

Paige nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

Ben watched them leave and sighed. “This is my fault.”

“Why do you say that?” Coop asked.

“It’s my whitelighter. So it has to be my fault. Mozzie is always really careful.” He shook his head. “If anything happens to him—” He shook his head.

“Hey,” Coop put a hand on his shoulder, “he’s going to be fine.”

“I asked him to get a message to my girl—my friend. Kate.”

Coop raised his eyebrows. “Girlfriend?”

Ben flushed. “Whatever. Kate is a demon but she’s not bad. Really. I just—what if someone saw them together or—there’s this other demon she knows and she says he’s cool but I always get this feeling about him.” He shook his head, hands clenching into fists. “If he saw Kate meeting with Mozzie…”

“Don’t start jumping to conclusions, Ben. When they bring Mozzie back, we’ll find out what happened. Your mom and your aunts are very good at what they do. He’s in safe hands.”

Ben nodded glumly. “Okay.”

He really, really hoped Coop was right.

Chapter Text

It was an hour later before the sisters arrived back at Phoebe’s house, Mozzie in tow. Ben was on his feet in a flash, checking Mozzie over.

“Are you okay, Moz?”

“I’m fine, Neal—Ben.” Mozzie smiled. “Really.”

“What happened? You’re like the most paranoid guy I know.” Ben swallowed.

Mozzie frowned. “You’re not going to like it.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“Ben, it’s not important, Mozzie is safe now,” Phoebe said.

“I want to know!”

“I was ambushed after I met with Kate,” Mozzie said. “I don’t know that she was involved but…”

“This is not happening again,” Ben said, shaking his head. “You got hurt because of me. That’s not happening again.”

“Ben, this is nothing like what happened then. And you know Jimmy wasn’t your fault—”

“It was my fault. This is my fault. I’m not going to let anyone else I care about get hurt because of me.” He shook his head. “Never again.”

“Ben—”

Before anyone could say another word, Ben shimmered out—and his tracking anklet stayed behind.

“You need to find him,” Phoebe said, turning to Mozzie. “Right now.”

Mozzie tilted his head, trying to sense his charge. He shook his head. “Kid’s blocking me. He’s a wily one but I’ll find him. You might want to try scrying while I check his haunts.”

“Wait, who is Jimmy?” Phoebe asked. “His reaction was…he was in pain, Mozzie. What happened?”

Mozzie sighed. “When he was four his adoptive parents were killed in a fire. His powers went active—he shimmered out of the building. Once he was old enough to figure out what happened he started to blame himself.”

“I know how that feels,” Paige said. “And who is Jimmy?”

“Jimmy Burger, he was a friend of Ben’s in New York. He died a year ago.” Mozzie shook his head.

“That’s about the same time he started his bond forgeries, isn’t it?” Phoebe asked.

“Yeah.” He licked his lips. “Jimmy was mortal. He got sick. Really sick. I couldn’t help him. After he got really obsessed with making sure kids like Jimmy could get medical help.”

“Kids like Jimmy?”

“Street kids.” Mozzie smiled. “He might be a lot of things, but his heart is always in the right place.”

“Well, we need to find him,” Phoebe sighed, “Go do your thing, we’ll start scrying.”

Mozzie nodded and orbed away.

***

When he was stressed, Ben went to places that made him felt safe. Like the National Gallery, or the Louvre—sometimes he went to Palazzo Pitti or the Parthenon. Places full of art and history and presence. This time though, he went back to a place he rarely visited. A little cemetery in Missouri, near the back fence. There were two headstones, tasteful, simple gray granite.

Helen Brooks

George Brooks

Ben swallowed. Not even Mozzie knew that he came here sometimes. He didn’t really have solid memories of the Brooks, he’d been too young, but he’d done research into them. They’d been good people. They’d cared about him. And they died. The fire had been more than suspicious. He took a seat graveside. There wasn’t a whole lot he could do about Mozzie being targeted by darklighters and he wasn’t even sure why. Was it because he’d been seen with Kate? Was it something to do with Adler?

He didn’t even know why Kate was with Adler. The guy wasn’t—he was more black than gray, as it were.

And he couldn’t just stay here. Eventually he’d fall asleep and then Mozzie would find him. He could only keep his whitelighter from finding him if he was awake enough to block. His options were limited but he couldn’t see going back to his mom until he knew exactly what was going on. Even if he wanted to. And he really wanted to.

First though—first he was going to talk to Kate.

***

“It’s no good, he’s moved again,” Phoebe said.

“And unfortunately, his blocking of Mozzie seems to extend to me,” Coop said. “Though if we work together we might be able to track him down through your empathic connection.”

Phoebe sighed. “I’d rather he just came home on his own—to be honest. But he was so scared, Coop. I just want to wrap him in my arms and never let go.”

“Mom?” PJ called.

“What is it Ladybug?” Phoebe turned toward her eldest daughter.

“Ben has a girlfriend.”

“Kate?” Phoebe prompted.

“Yeah. I mean, if you were upset about something wouldn’t you go to Dad? Maybe he went to Kate.” PJ fidgeted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “He was worried about her.”

“Yes, but we don’t know where Kate lives beyond—New York. It’s a big city.”

PJ frowned. “I—I don’t want Ben to stay gone. You have to bring him home. He’s my brother. I like having a brother.”

Phoebe smiled. “He’s going to come home. I know it. It’s late though, you should go to bed. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll tuck you in. Coop, keeping trying?”

“I will.”

***

A purchased burner phone, phone call and thirty minutes later Ben was meeting Kate at one of their favorite haunts—the carousel at Coney Island. Ben waited patiently, watching the waves.

“Neal?”

He turned toward the sound of Kate’s voice and smiled. “Kate.”

She closed the distance between them. “Where have you been? I mean I talked to Mozzie but he wouldn’t tell me anything. Just that you were okay and you would get in touch.”

“I’m here to talk about Mozzie, Kate. Right after he left you some darklighters took him. You know about that?”

“What?” Her eyes widened. “No. I mean—I didn’t tell them or anything. I don’t deal with darklighters, never have.”

“I know but what about Adler?”

“Adler doesn’t hurt people Neal. Not all demons do, you know. Some of us, some of us decide to take a different path.” She put a hand on his chest, looking up at him through her lashes. “You know I care about you, Neal. I just—you would be safer with Adler.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think I’m safe anywhere, Kate. Are you sure you didn’t see anything when you left Mozzie?”

She shook her head but Ben felt something from her. Something…deceit? He frowned.

Kate widened her eyes, “Everything will be okay, Neal. I promise.” She kissed him.

Ben blinked, a drowsy sort of smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Right.”

“Just come with me to Adler. He’ll protect you.”

Ben!

He shook his head. “I don’t trust Adler.”

“Do you trust me? Neal?”

He swallowed. “I want to, Kate.”

Ben, where are you? It was Mozzie.

“Neal?”

“I have to go Kate. I have to go.” He shook his head. “This was a mistake. I’m sorry.”

“Neal—please.”

“I’ll see you soon, okay?” He kissed her. “Promise.” He smiled, ditched the burner phone he’d used to call her in the first place, and shimmered away.

Kate sighed in frustration, snarled, and shimmered out.

***

“I know he heard me,” Mozzie said.

Phoebe and Coop sighed.

“He just needs to calm down a bit. He’ll come back.” Mozzie tried for reassuring, but he wasn’t sure he was succeeding.

“How did you end up as his whitelighter? I mean, no offense but you're kind of—not who I would have picked.” Phoebe raised her eyebrows at him.

“I picked him. When I was a kid I was in the foster system so when Ben came up—I took him. Bonded.”

“Oh.” Phoebe felt something—nervousness and fear. Hope. Worry. It was gone as soon as it was present. She frowned. “I just want him home.”

Coop took her hand and squeezed it.

“I just want him home.”

***

Ben wasn’t even sure why he’d flickered back to his Mom’s house, he was less sure of why he now sat in a chair on the lawn outside the manor. Probably because it had become, somewhat unconsciously, one of his safe places. He had his head tilted up at the sky, looking at the stars that weren’t even out yet in New York, when he heard someone walk up behind him.

He startled, jumping out of the chair and turning toward the sound.

“Chris?”

“Hey Ben.” His cousin gave him an assessing look. “You know, Aunt Phoebe is really worried about you. Uncle Coop too. Well, everyone.”

Ben swallowed. “I know.”

“I know I can’t know exactly what you’re feeling but…” Chris sighed, pushing his hair out of his face. “I do know what it’s like to want to protect your family. The thing is, she’s your mom. She’s going to protect you.” He shrugged. “I’ve done my fair share of stupid things. Mostly the no-longer existent future me—which is a story for another night—but I know this family. There is nothing they won’t do to protect it and you are safe here. They are safe.”

“I just can’t lose anyone else,” Ben said at last. “I can’t even imagine losing Mom now.” He clenched his jaw.

Chris hesitated for a moment before he put a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “You should go home to your mom. Let the adults worry about who targeted your whitelighter and why. Let them help. That’s what family is for.”

“Why do I get the feeling that of the cousins you are the one most likely to act on your own?” Ben said, a touch wryly.

“Because you have the power of premonition and from what I understand, you read people pretty well.” Chris smiled. “So if I am telling you to let them help, you know I mean it.”

Ben nodded. “Yeah. I guess so.” He sighed. “Do you think I’ll still have to go to school in the morning?”

“Probably. So you should get back before it gets too late.” Chris clapped him on the shoulder. “Besides, we’re supposed to have a couple classes together and I am sort of looking forward to having an ally.”

“Okay.” Ben nodded. “Thanks, Chris.”

“Like I said, you're family, Ben. We look out for each other.” He smiled. “Go on, before my Mom, comes out here.”

“Good point.” Ben shimmered away.

Chris took a moment, glancing up at the stars before turning to head inside. Leo was standing in the doorway.

“Was that Ben?” Leo asked.

“Yeah. He should be headed home now.”

“And shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“Hey, I just helped my cousin with his emotional crisis, cut me some slack.” Chris gesticulated a bit, but it was clear he wasn’t putting any real antagonism behind the words.

Leo smiled, ruffling his son’s hair as he got closer. “Good job, buddy.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

***

Phoebe felt the confusion and fear come back. She and Coop had settled in the kitchen, the girls in bed, tea laid out on the table. She heard footsteps in the hall and turned to see Ben standing in the doorway, hand on the door frame.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Ben.” She stood up. “I—”

“I’m sorry,” he interrupted. “My first instinct is to run.”

“It’s okay,” Phoebe crossed the room, putting a hand on his arm. “I know all of this is really new for you and I know you’re scared.”

He could feel her fear, confusion—a little bit of anger. Definitely worry. He bit his lip. “Still, I shouldn’t have run.”

“We can work on that.”

He nodded.

“You should get to bed. There’s still school tomorrow. And I think Henry wants to talk to you about losing that anklet.”

“Yeah, I figured.” He tensed for a moment before giving her a quick hug. “Night, Mom.”

“Good night, sweetheart.”

She watched him, listening as he went upstairs and settled into his room before looking back at Coop.

“He came back,” Coop said. “That’s—a lot.”

“I know. One day at a time, right?”

“That’s all we can do.”

***

Special Agent Peter Burke wasn’t happy. A fact Elizabeth was aware of the minute he walked into the house and she saw the frown on his face.

“Hey, hon,” she smiled. “Bad day?”

“You could say that.” He tugged at his tie, loosening it as he put his jacket on the coat rack. “We found Keller and he made a deal…he wasn’t behind Raphael heist. That kid lied to me.”

“Ah.” Elizabeth frowned. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to give him one more chance to tell me the truth.” Peter shook his head. “Keller is a dangerous man. Very dangerous. If Caffrey—whatever his name is—was willing to give us Keller’s name it means that whoever he’s protecting is even more dangerous.”

“You think he might’ve been scared? He is a kid, Peter. A sixteen-year-old kid.”

Peter sighed, rubbing his face. “I know. I need to talk to him. Give your a cousin a call, we’ll arrange something. I can’t protect him without a big case to cover up the fact that he’s gone, El. The bureau put too much into chasing him to let him go without a win.”

“I know.” She kissed her husband. “I’ll call Henry. We’ll work it out.”

“Thanks, hon.”

***

“I saw Neal,” Kate said. “He was here, in New York. Asking about Mozzie.” She licked her lips, watching Adler for any sign of anger.

The older demon hummed. “Well, that’s something at least. Did he say where’s staying?”

She shook her head. “No, but I know he’ll come back. He loves me. He isn’t just going to vanish.”

“You’re sure of that?”

“Yes.”

Adler nodded. “Very well. I expect results soon, Kate. I expect that boy to be mine.”

She nodded hastily.

“Good. You are dismissed.”

She shimmered out, leaving Adler alone in his office. The man stood, phasing through the back wall of his office into his secret study. It was filled with stolen goods he had procured over the centuries. The Raphael, St. George and the Dragon, hung on the wall. An amber music box sat on a pedestal beneath a golden light. Boxes of jewels and gold coins and any manner of currency spilled from tables. Adler had wealth and money and power.

But the boy…he stopped in front of a portrait of a woman. She looked regal, in a gown some three-hundred years out of fashion. Her dark hair shimmered and her dark eyes seemed to follow the viewer. There was a plaque in gold hammered to the ornate frame.

Lady Elizabeth

“Don’t worry, mother, our lost lamb will be brought back into the fold.” Adler smiled. “My half-brother might have been a disappointment, but I will ensure that his son follows the right path.”

The portrait’s eyes seemed to glow for a moment.

He smiled. “You’ll see. I just have to provide the right—bait—for the trap.”

The portrait smiled back.

Chapter Text

“—and that’s how I kept my brother from becoming an evil overlord,” Chris finished.

“Wow.” Ben raised his eyebrows. “So this whole family is pretty messed up then?”

“Pretty much. You fit right in.”

Ben smiled. “Thanks.”

The bell chimed, signaling the end of lunch. “Come on, we have Modern Magic with my dad up next.”

Ben frowned. “Should be fun.”

“Don’t worry, he’s a good teacher. Don’t tell him I said that.”

“Okay.” Ben smiled. “You know; your feelings are all—weird. When if comes to your dad. Messy. Faded uncertain anger—but not anger.”

“It’s an echo of the future that didn’t happen.” He shrugged. “But I know it’s not real. Not anymore.” Chris gave him a look. “Your Empathy must be pretty strong to pick up on that.”

“It helps if I just focus on one person at a time. Family is easiest to focus on. I guess.”

Chris smiled. “I get that. Eventually though, you’ll be able to shield yourself from everything if you want.”

“Save me from a headache.”

“Aunt Phoebe swears by this tea. I’ll show you how to make it.”

“Thanks.”

“And, if you want, I can show you where I go to ditch class. It’s quiet, so if it gets to be too much you’ll have someplace.”

“You—you’re a good cousin, Chris.”

“Well, I guess after having future where you lose so many people, you stop taking family for granted. Besides, it’s nice to have another guy in the family.”

“The girls are so loud. So—emotive.” Ben’s eyes widened. “It’s like a sorority house. I don’t know how Coop does it.”

“You and me both, cousin.”

***

Ben wasn’t sure if he was more or less confused about magic after a day at magic school. He was definitely not feeling up to a meeting with Henry but that was out of his hands after his disappearing act last night. At least, this time, he wasn’t alone with Henry. No, he had Mom and Coop and Henry all in the living room. Looking at him.

“So,” Henry said. “You shimmered out of the anklet. Was that on purpose?”

“I dunno.” Ben shrugged. “Maybe? I was panicking. I don’t think well when I panic.”

“I had Paige put a spell on your new anklet,” Henry said, pulling it out of his bag. “It goes where you go. No magicking out of it.”

Ben sighed. “Fine.”

“And on another note, Agent Burke called.”

Oh no. Ben raised his eyebrows. “Why?”

“He wants to talk to you.”

“About?”

“He didn’t say. But he’ll be here—soon.”

Ben paled slightly. “Okay.”

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.

“How exactly did he get here?” Ben asked.

“Paige picked him up,” Henry replied. “Stay put.”

“I’m sure he just has some follow up questions,” Phoebe said. “Unless there’s something you need to tell us?”

Ben shook his head. He was not getting them involved with Adler. Yes, they were powerful witches but Adler—he wasn’t even sure what kind of demon Adler was. All he was certain of was that Adler was a demon. Something high level. He’d perused the library at school for a bit during a break without any leads. He knew Kate was a demonic-sorceress. He hadn’t precisely lied when he said Mozzie taught him things about witchcraft, he had, but so had Kate.

She’d been the only person beyond his whitelighter willing to teach him.

Ben had only met Adler twice and both times he’d felt more than just a little ill at ease. He’d never had a premonition or anything about Adler but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the man wanted something from him beyond his skills as a thief and forger.

“It’s nice to see you’ve settled in—Ben.” Peter pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Agent Burke.” Ben couldn’t help his automatic reaction, a sleek conman’s smile. “What do I owe the visit to?”

“I had a chat with Matthew Keller.”

“And?”

“And he is not that man that hired you to steal the Raphael.” Peter crossed his arms over his chest. “He was also unwilling to give me that name so here I am, asking you the same question I did before. Who asked you steal the Raphael? And I’m going to warn you now—this is your last chance to come clean.”

Ben swallowed. “And if I can’t?”

“Then this is going to be a lot more difficult.” Peter sighed. “Look, I know how bad a guy Keller is, and I know that if you gave him up then whoever it is your protecting is probably worse. I can understand if you’re scared but the FBI can protect you.”

“And who will protect the FBI?” Ben muttered.

Peter raised his eyebrows. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Ben,” Phoebe said, “what is it?”

He was feeling that age old impulse to cut and run. What was the FBI going to do against a demon except get killed? He didn’t want Agent Burke to get killed. He didn’t want anyone to get killed. But if he admitted to working for a demon…he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what his mom would think about that.

You can’t run, kid.

Ben sighed, trying to ignore Mozzie’s voice in his head.

“We won’t be angry,” Coop tried. “Really. Just tell Agent Burke what you know.”

Ben closed his eyes running a hand through his hair. “Even if I tell you his name, it won’t matter. He’ll either vanish or he’ll kill anyone you send in after him.” Swallowing, he looked back at Peter. “I stole the Raphael for a demon.”

Peter narrowed his gaze. “A demon? This demon have a name?”

“Like I said. You won’t catch him.” Ben straightened in his chair. “He’s dangerous. I don’t know how dangerous exactly. I just know he is.”

“Then why work for him at all?” Peter pressed.

“Because you don’t say no to people like that when they ask you to do something.”

“Do you know what kind of demon he is?” Phoebe asked.

“No.” He shrugged. “I just—I get this feeling about him. And he has a nasty reputation.”

“So, you won’t tell me his name because you think if I have it I’ll get killed?” Peter prompted.

“Yeah.” Ben nodded.

“Then I need you to give me something. Keller was a good start, Ben but the FBI needs a big collar to shake you.”

Ben didn’t like snitching, but if giving up one of his partners in crime kept Agent Burke or his team out of the morgue he was almost willing to risk it.

“Matthew Keller wasn’t big enough?”

Peter shook his head.

“Not even if you know he did the diamond heist in Belize? Or that Rothman from the Getty?”

“He did those jobs?” Peter raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

“About as sure as I am that he killed one of his team members after Belize.” Ben swallowed. “Guy thought he lost his passport—Keller shot him. Turned out it was in his back pocket the whole time.”

“Belize was a three-man team,” Peter said.

“It was.” Ben swallowed. “And it was a month after the Raphael. That was Keller’s test run with me. I didn’t know how violent he was.”

Peter rubbed his face. “You were the third man?”

Ben nodded. “And as soon as I got clear of him I got out of there. He might not have magic but he has eyes everywhere.” He licked his lips. “I couldn’t risk coming forward then but…Keller has a bad habit of keeping his guns. Or so I’ve heard. He has a safety deposit box in Third Federal, New York under the name John Morse.”

“Okay.” Peter nodded. “I can use that.” His expression softened. “I’m sorry you had to see something like that, Ben.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time someone died in front of me.” He blinked. “Anyway, do you still need more or are we done?”

“We’re done. For now. But I want you to think long and hard about giving the name of that demon to your mother and aunts to handle.”

After a moment, Ben nodded.

“Okay.” Peter sighed. “I’ll just leave the rest of this to your family then. It was nice to see you all again.”

Ben watched as the adults made with the general pleasantries required before Peter left. Which of course left him alone again with his now very concerned mother, Coop and Henry.

“Why don’t we start by getting this on your leg?” Henry said, holding the anklet up again.

“Fine.” Ben kept himself still while Henry locked the anklet into place, eyeing the runes carved into the surface. He could feel the tingle of magic against his skin, not unpleasant but definitely there. Henry took his seat back on the couch just as Paige orbed back.

“Your FBI agent does not take to orbing well,” Paige said with a smirk before taking a seat next to her husband. “So…who is this demon you think is too dangerous to send the FBI after?”

“Any demon is too dangerous to send mortals after,” Ben snapped.

“Watch your tone, young man,” Henry rebuked.

Ben ducked his head, pulling inward.

“If you tell us his name, we can after him. Protect you,” Phoebe said. “That’s what we do.”

“You’ve seen enough bad things in your life, Ben,” Coop said. “Let us protect you.”

He could have told them any number of believable lies but he didn’t want to. He could have told them Adler’s name but—he didn’t want to do that either.

“I know you’re feeling conflicted,” Phoebe started, “but this all comes down to trust, sweetheart. You need to trust us.”

Ben exhaled sharply. “I don’t want to lie to you. I don’t want to tell you either.” He made a face. “Can I think about it?”

Phoebe sighed. “Ben, you think this is demon is dangerous. Why?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only met him twice and I don’t know what he is exactly but…” He shook his head. “I get this feeling and I can’t shake it.”

“Have you ever had a vision around him?” Phoebe continued.

“No. It’s almost like—” He shook his head again.

“Almost like what?”

“Like I’m being blocked. I mean, can a demon even do that?”

“It’s possible.” Phoebe frowned. “Maybe with an artifact of some kind? A potion?” She glanced at Coop.

“Anything is possible. It would be more helpful if we knew his name.” Coop raised an eyebrow at Ben.

Ben, fully recognizing manipulation when he saw it, grimaced. “You’re a bit too obvious, Coop.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying, Ben.”

“I may not have anything to say about demons, Ben, but I do know that the worst thing a person trying to go straight can do is keep in touch with their criminal contacts. Are you keeping this guy a secret because he’s dangerous or because you might need him again in the future?” Henry leaned forward. “Honestly.”

“He isn’t the kind of guy you go to. He comes to you. So no, that’s got nothing to do with it.” Ben crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back into his chair. “He’s the last person I would go to for work. Not that I’m even looking for work.”

Henry’s look was skeptical at best.

“Ben, you are in more danger without our help than you are with it,” Paige said. “I realize you’re feeling a lot of pressure right now but that’s only because we care.”

And he knew that. He could feel that. He’d felt the shift of uncertainty and concern to caring and the beginnings of love. It was comforting, somewhat, to know that his new-found family was coming to accept him but on the other hand he could feel everything else too. Every twinge of worry and frustration.

“Why don’t we table this discussion for now?” Coop said. “You can take some time, think it over.”

After a moment, Ben nodded. He just needed a little more time. Just—a little more time.

***

The next day at school, Ben couldn’t help feeling distracted, and there was an itch at the back of his head he couldn’t seem to shake.

“You ever feel like you’re being watched?” Ben asked, glancing at Chris.

“Constantly, usually by Dad when he thinks I’m up to something. Which is often.”

Ben snorted. “I suppose it was inevitable then, the black sheep hanging together?”

Chris made a face and nodded in agreement. “I think it’s mostly because of the time I accidently summoned a storm inside the house.”

“Accidently?”

“Mostly.” Chris grinned. “Wyatt was being annoying.”

“I guess older brothers are good for that.” Ben paused, taking a closer look at his cousin who was now looking at something beyond Ben’s shoulder. “You feel weird. Is that—are you crushing on someone?” Ben smiled. “You are.”

Chris groaned. “It’s bad enough from Phoebe and Coop.”

“Sorry.” Ben laughed. “Who is it?”

Chris wrinkled his nose and gestured vaguely. Ben turned away from his lunch, glancing back at the table behind them. There were five students there, three guys and two girls, all in the same age range as he and his cousin, but that didn’t give Ben any real clue. He looked back at his cousin. “Shirt color?”

Chris frowned. “You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”

“Not a chance.” Ben smiled.

“Fine. Green shirt.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Really?” He made a face in appreciation. “He’s cute.”

Chris flushed. “Just don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Scout’s honor.”

“You were never in the scouts.”

“Well—not technically, I did have a uniform though.”

Chris laughed. “I bet you did.”

“And if you need any advice…”

“I’ll ask Uncle Coop.”

“Ouch.”

“What are you two talking about?” Wyatt asked, taking a seat at their table.

“Nothing,” came the simultaneous reply.

He raised his eyebrows, looking incredibly like his father. “Uh huh. Did either of you take decent notes yesterday in Modern Magic? I spilled orange juice all over mine.”

“Yeah,” Ben said. He grabbed his bag and pulled out the notebook he’d used. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, Ben.” Wyatt smiled. “Did you take notes, Chris?”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Yes, but you hate my notes, remember?”

“Fair point.” Wyatt started flipping through Ben’s notes and copying them out into his own new notebook. “You’re very thorough.”

“Thanks. I don’t really need to be but…” he shrugged. “I pretty much remember anything I’m told.”

“Which is why my notes are in shorthand,” Chris said. “I don’t need to take copious notes, Wy.”

“I’m surrounded by irritating over-achievers, aren’t I?” Wyatt groaned. “That’s fine.”

“Well I have to compensate somehow for you being—you.” Chris smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly.

Ben felt a twinge of emotion, but not from his cousins. It was longing? Lust? He flushed. Definitely lust. He glanced behind him and noticed Mr. Green Shirt was making eyes—at Wyatt. Well, that would disappoint Chris. He sighed and pushed the emotion away. He had an urge to assist his cousin’s love-life somehow.

There had to be more than two flexibly oriented boys in the school, and he would find them and then steer Chris carefully toward someone who did have eyes for him. What else was family for?

***

“I’ve tracked our boy down,” Adler said, staring at Kate from behind his desk. “He’s in San Francisco.”

“How did you find him?” she asked.

“I know him better than he knows me.” Adler smiled. He picked up a pen and jotted down an address. “He’s staying here, or close to it. Find him. Seduce him. Bring him to me. You have one week or I’ll be forced to do something very unpleasant to you.”

“I understand.” Kate swallowed. “I’ll bring him back to you. I swear.” She stepped forward, taking the address from his hand.

“Good.” He smiled. “Now run along.”

Kate shimmered away.

***

After school, Ben headed home with Chris and Wyatt rather than the girls, sending a message along to his Mom to let her know he was studying with them. Which was partially true, and also partially not true. Chris had noticed Ben’s focus on demonology text books during study hall and after prying out a partial answer, agreed to help his cousin figure things out before he told the adults anything.

They managed to get away from Piper after four cookies and promises to be home before dinner, heading up to Chris’s room to study.

“Okay,” Chris said, kneeling down by his bed to pull a box out from under it, “if you want to know things about a specific demon, the best way to do that is to ask a demon.” He smiled.

“Somehow I don’t think your mom would appreciate us summoning one up here,” Ben said, leaning against Chris’s desk.

“Who said we had to summon one? I’ve been making contacts in the Underworld since I figured out glamours. It’s always useful to have an ear to the ground. Just in case.”

Ben felt the surge of fear tempered by anxiety spike from his cousin before he pulled it back. Not that Ben could really blame him. If he had memories of a world where evil reigned, he’d probably be a bit paranoid too. And to be fair, Ben was a bit paranoid. Just not typically about demons.

“So, where are we going then?”

“First,” Chris picked up his box and set it on the bed, “we look the part, then we head down to one of the Underworld’s hotspots and see if we can get someone to talk about this demon.”

Ben nodded. “Okay. I’m game.”

Chris pulled out some ratty looking clothes. “We’ll go in as low-level demons. Just try not to be too obvious about anything.”

“I’ll do my best.”

After they changed and Chris had used his glamour to give them older appearances, Ben shimmered them into the Underworld, somewhat surprised he was able to locate the plane without a previous trip.

Chris smiled. “Okay, we’re close to a good spot, follow me.”

“Just out of curiosity, have your parents ever caught you doing this?”

“Not yet they haven’t”

“Knock on wood.”

***

Henry was finishing up paperwork at the station when his phone dinged. He sighed, taking a look at the alert on the screen and immediately frowned, dialing Phoebe a second later.

“This is Phoebe,” she answered.

“Do you know where Ben is right now?” Henry asked.

“He’s studying with Chris at Piper’s.”

“I don’t think so,” Henry pulled up the tracking data on his computer. “From what I can see, it looks like his anklet went offline. It was there one minute and then—not.”

He could hear Phoebe sigh. “I’ll call Piper,” she said. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

They could only hope.

***

Piper’s phone rang minutes later, pulling her away from a conversation with Melinda. “Yes?” she answered.

“Could you check on Ben for me?” Phoebe replied. “Henry called me and said there’s something off with his tracking data.”

“Of course, sweetie.” Piper hung on the phone as she headed upstairs. “Chris? Ben?” She knocked on Chris’s door.

Wyatt popped his head out of his own room. “They haven’t come out that I’ve heard,” he said.

“Hmm.” Piper opened the door to the unoccupied room and frowned. “They aren’t here,” she said into the receiver.

“They?” Phoebe prompted.

“Chris and Ben. Not here.” Piper’s frown deepened. “I’ll get Leo, he can track down Chris and with any luck Ben will be with him.”

“Okay.” Phoebe took a breath. “Call me as soon as you know anything.”

“I will.” Piper hung up and glanced at Wyatt. “Sense for your brother, Wyatt.”

Her eldest son closed his eyes for a moment and then shook his head. “He’s not on this plane.” He frowned. “Sorry, I think Ben is blocking them both.”

Piper huffed. “Those boys… It’s okay Wyatt, Leo will find them.”

“Are you sure, Mom? I can keep trying?”

“No, just do your homework.” She smiled, pausing to kiss his cheek. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” She headed downstairs, calling for Leo.

Her husband orbed into the living room as she arrived, mild concern on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Chris and Ben have taken a field trip somewhere. Wyatt can’t sense Chris so Ben is probably blocking. Can you find them?”

“Of course,” Leo smiled. “I’m sure it’s nothing. They’re both smart kids.”

“Yeah—but they’re also really impulsive.”

“True. Don’t worry.” He kissed her. “I’ll find them.” And he orbed back out again.

***

Ben found himself oddly at ease amongst the demons at the Underworld bar Chris had taken him too, and was actually pretty impressed with Chris’s camouflage. It seemed his skill at the con hadn’t necessarily come from the demonic side of his heritage. Something about that made him feel better, though he wasn’t sure why.

He rotated through the perimeter of the room, dropping Adler’s name here and there, listening to other conversations and in general fishing while Chris worked the area closer to the bar. It had been a calculated risk telling Chris Adler’s name but Ben was hoping his cousin would keep his secret. Chris seemed pretty good at keeping secrets.

After they’d hit up every demon in the room, they met up at the back wall.

“Any luck?” Ben asked.

Chris shook his head. “I get the feeling he doesn’t go by that name down here. Which is going to make it a lot harder to find out anything.”

Ben sighed. “Damn.”

“Don’t worry, there’s still some time, we can check out another spot before we head back.”

“Okay.”

They slipped out of the bar, heading down an empty passageway. Ben had taken three steps when he was struck by a vision.

Footsteps behind them. A light. Something…fear in the pit of his stomach.

“Hey?” Chris had a hand on his shoulder. “What did you see?”

“I’m not sure—” He heard footsteps behind them and whirled around. Blue light—orbs—formed between them, reforming into the tall, angry shape of Leo. Ben swallowed a spike of fear.

Leo gave them each a sharp look, took them each by an ear, and orbed out.

Chapter Text

“Christopher Victor Halliwell and Benjamin Peter Halliwell—what the hell do you think you were doing?” Piper shouted.

Chris winced.

Ben couldn’t blame him; he wasn’t feeling all that confident right then either.

“Uh—scouting for information?” Ben said.

“In the Underworld?”

“Well it is where most of the demons are.” Ben swallowed.

“Before you go off the rails,” Chris held up his hands to forestall his mother’s next words, “it was my idea.”

“What?” Piper made a face of exceptional displeasure. “Your idea?”

“Yes, it was my idea. I was trying to help him gather all the facts before he made a decision about bringing you and the aunts in on his demon problem.” Chris shrugged broadly.

It was at that moment that Phoebe and Coop arrived in a blur of pink light. Leo orbed in a second later. The additional parental figures made things a bit more awkward for both teens.

“You went to the Underworld?” Phoebe exclaimed. “What were you thinking?” She crossed her arms over her chest, staring at her son.

Ben could feel fear more than anger, and he couldn’t really blame her. “Um…” Ben found himself at a loss for words.

“Like I was telling Mom, it was my idea, Aunt Phoebe. Ben just come along for the ride.”

Phoebe bit her lip, taking a breath. “Christopher, you took my son to the Underworld?”

“Uh…” It was Chris’s turn to be speechless.

“Christopher,” Leo said, “I found you outside an Underworld bar so I think we need an explanation on how you knew it was there and not just an explanation on why you thought going there was a good idea in the first place.”

“Plead the fifth,” Ben suggested.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Phoebe shook her head, “none of that. This is not a court of law, you don’t have that right, now spill.”

“Ben?” Coop prompted.

Ben felt a distinctly paternal surge from the tall Cupid. He didn’t mind especially, well, he wouldn’t if he wasn’t in trouble just then. He really didn’t want to disappoint his mom and he found he didn’t especially want to disappoint Coop either.

“Benjamin.” Coop raised his eyebrows.

“I’m not saying anything about Chris.” He folded his arms over his chest. “We went, we talked to people and we got nowhere. Then Leo found us. End of story.”

“While I can sense that everything you said is technically true,” Phoebe gave her son a sharp look, “I can also sense you are being evasive.”

Ben shrugged.

There were sighs of exasperation from the adults in the room.

“Okay, mister,” Piper looked at her son, “you are grounded for two months or until you decide to tell us the truth.” She smiled tightly. “No magic. No orbing. Home and school.”

Chris sighed.

“And you can spend your extra time helping me at Magic School. There at least a dozen storage rooms that need to be cleaned out and organized,” Leo added.

“You know, that sounds like a great idea,” Phoebe said. “Keep the boys busy and they’ll stay out of trouble.” She looked at her own wayward child shrewdly. “Under constant supervision.”

Ben sighed.

“Okay, you are coming home now,” Phoebe held a hand out to Ben.

After a moment of reluctance, he took her hand.

“We’ll discuss this further at home,” Coop promised, taking Phoebe’s other hand.

That sounded promising.

***

They’d taken the discussion up to Ben’s room while the girls did their homework downstairs.

“What were you thinking?” Phoebe asked. “Anything could have happened to you!”

Ben ducked his head, wincing at the wave of fear and flash of anger.

“I was just trying to find information and Chris was just helping.” He looked up. “We didn’t get made. We weren’t hurt.”

“Yes but you could have been.” Phoebe frowned. “You both could have been.”

“We know you’re used to do everything on your own and being put in dangerous situations,” Coop said. “You have to start trusting us, Ben.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you I just…” He shrugged. It was so easy for him to spin a story for marks but with his parents—his parents, he couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to. He bit down on his lip. “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” Phoebe said.

“Mom?” Parker called from the hallway. “Could you help me with my homework?”

“What subject?” Phoebe turned toward the hall.

“Math.”

“I can help with that,” Ben smiled, “I’ll help you with that.” He shimmered into the hall and smiled at Parker. “Come on, I’m good at math.”

Parker smiled. “Thanks, Ben.”

Phoebe raised her eyebrows as her son beat his strategic retreat and turned back to Coop with a sigh. “He is very smooth.”

“Yeah. Did you notice the feeling he was emanating right before he apologized?” Coop smiled. “He might be having trust issues but he is connecting with us.”

“Yeah. I noticed.” She smiled. “He’s still in trouble.”

“Oh yeah,” Coop agreed. “Big trouble.”

***

“And that’s how you do long division shorthand,” Ben finished. “It’s a lot easier that way.”

Parker smiled. “That makes a lot more sense.”

“It’s all about framing the numbers into pieces that make sense to you.” He smiled back. “And for multiplication—”

“Well this is sweet.”

Ben looked up. “Kate? What are you doing here?” He stood up from the table.

She crossed the room, taking his hands. “I came for you, Neal.” She smiled. “I miss you. I want you to come back to New York. With me.”

He exhaled sharply. “Kate, I—I can’t. I can’t go back to New York. This is where I belong but you could belong here too.”

She grimaced. “Neal, listen to me, listen to my voice—you want to come home with me.”

“What are you doing?” Parker asked. “Using suggestion to make someone do something is wrong.”

Ben shook his head. “You were using suggestion on me.” He pulled away from Kate. “How could you do that?”

She grimaced. “You have to come with me, Neal.”

He felt a sharp rush of anger from her—and contempt. “My name is Ben.” He shook his head. “You should go, Kate. Get your priorities straight. I really care about you but—”

“You are coming with me.”

“No, I’m not.”

She snarled, shimmering out and reappearing behind Parker, grabbing the girl as a blade appeared in her hand. “Yes, you are.”

Ben backed away from the murderous feeling she was emitting. “Kate, don’t do this. Let Parker go.”

“Parker—how cute. You’re supposed to love me,” she shouted. “What is she to you? Huh?” She tightened her grip. He couldn’t feel anything from her that even came close to love.

“She’s my sister. Let her go.”

“Your sister?” Kate laughed. “You’re an orphan—or you will be, if you don’t come with now.”

He felt anger roil in the pit of his stomach, and a sensation like sparks across the palm of his hand. “Let her go, Kate.”

“Promise you’ll come with me.”

He made eye contact with Parker, smiling at her. “It’s going to be okay Parker.”

She nodded slightly.

“Go to Mom and Dad, okay?”

The emotions coming off Kate, the darkness, he was surprised he’d never felt it before. She’d masked it somehow. Pretended to care about him. But now it was all out in the open. Every dark emotion every terrible thought. All she wanted was power and he was her ticket.

“Go now, Parker!”

Kate clearly wasn’t expecting the girl to beam away in a glow of pink light. She snarled again. “If you won’t come with me then I have no use for you.” She raised the blade, dark rage pouring off of her. “And I promise, your little family will follow.”

“You will never touch them,” he snarled. He flexed his hand, surprised as a bright ball of energy formed in the air above it. His eyes widened.

She lunged forward, a horrible smile on her face. “Well, well, I guess someone’s getting in touch with his inner demon—”

All he could see was the flash of the knife and the threat toward his family. All he could feel was that horrible anger. He threw the ball without a second thought, interrupting Kate’s tirade. She burst into flame as Phoebe and Coop made it into the room.

Ben shook, knees giving out as he slumped down on the floor.

“Oh—Ben!” Phoebe rushed over, pulling her son into her arms. “Are you okay?”

“I thought Kate loved me,” Ben cried. “She had so much anger inside. She wanted to kill Parker. You.” He swallowed. “How could she do that?”

“Shh.” Phoebe pressed his head to her shoulder, running a hand through his hair. “It’s okay. I know it hurts. I know.” She glanced up at Coop. “His heart is breaking.”

“I know.” Coop knelt down next to her. “Here, I’ll take Ben. Go make sure the girls are okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Phoebe kissed Ben gently on the forehead. “I have to check on your sisters, sweetheart, you want to stay with Coop?”

After a moment, Ben nodded. Phoebe gently pulled away from him and Coop took over.

“She was going to kill Parker.”

“I know, buddy,” Coop rubbed his back gently. “I know.”

“I didn’t want to. I couldn’t stop.”

“I know.” Coop stood, lifting Ben up into his arms. One advantage of being enormously tall and broad shouldered was that even the tall teenager wasn’t really much of struggle to carry. “It’s okay. Let’s get you to bed.”

Ben thought he should have felt some sort of embarrassment at being carried like a child, crying and clinging to Coop like he was a giant teddy bear, but he couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed. He just…hurt too much.

“I know it doesn’t feel like right now,” Coop whispered, “but you’re going to be okay, Ben.”

Ben really wanted to believe that.

***

He didn’t go to school the next day, holing up in his bedroom. Not that anyone could really blame him. Phoebe called off work to stay with him, though he wasn’t especially feeling up to company.

Phoebe was in the kitchen with Paige, trying to think of something she could do to cheer Ben up, though nothing was coming immediately to mind.

“So is his demon girlfriend shows up and tries to get him to leave, threatens all of you and he manifested an energy ball and vanquished her.” Paige made a face. “That’s a lot for a sixteen-year-old. Also, he is definitely your son.”

Phoebe glared. “Very unhelpful, Paige.”

She shrugged. “Why did Kate want him to go back so badly? There has to be a reason.”

“I don’t know, but she broke his heart, Paige. She threatened my children.” Phoebe shook her head. “I’m going to find out who was pulling her strings.”

“Is anyone with Ben right now?”

“Mozzie is staying with him. He might be squirrelly but he is Ben’s whitelighter, and he does care.” She licked her lips. “You should have seen Coop with Ben last night after it happened. I wasn’t sure about how Coop was going to handle having Ben here but…he really wants to be Ben’s father. He spent most of the night with him. I stayed with him this morning until Mozzie came.” She swallowed. “He’s so much more fragile than he seems, you know? He’s been through so much and now this?”

Paige reached out, taking Phoebe’s hand and squeezing gently. “He’s a tough cookie, just like his mom.”

“I know, but a person can only take so much.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Did you talk to Piper?”

“Yeah, I filled her in. You know—I have to wonder if the mystery demon Ben was afraid to give up is the puppet master.”

“If he is, I wish Ben would tell us about him…” Phoebe’s face went blank as she was drawn into a vision.

Paige waited until Phoebe came back to herself, blinking and breathing deeply.

“What did you see?” Paige asked.

“A house—I think it was in New York. Not really a house, more of a mansion?” She licked her lips. “There was a man standing in the window at the top floor.” She shook her head. “Not much to go on.”

“Still, better than nothing.” Paige frowned. “I should call Henry, he was worried.”

“About Ben?”

“Well, he’s been digging into Ben’s past and when he found his foster care records…well, he has a soft spot. He hasn’t really been showing it, but he has started to think of himself as Ben’s uncle more than Ben’s unofficial parole officer. I’m pretty sure Leo has even warmed up to the idea.”

“I know he has. Of course, Leo met angry Chris and managed to bond.” She smiled. “Ben might have his quirks but he’s a good boy.”

“He is,” Paige agreed. “He defended his family last night.”

“I know. I just wish he hadn’t needed to.”

Upstairs, Ben was in bed, curled around a pillow. Mozzie sat at the desk, pretending to read a magazine. Ben had been sketching earlier, charcoal was smudged along his arms, the open sketchpad was on the floor. A haunting, careful likeness of Kate stared off the page.

“Ben, do you want to talk about it?”

Ben shifted, glancing at Mozzie over the pillow.

“Kate was using you for something, Ben.”

“Yeah, I got that from the contempt and anger I felt last night.” Ben swallowed. “She hated me, Moz. How did I not see that?” He buried his face back into the pillow.

“You can’t expect to see everything, kid.”

“I should have.” His voice was muffled by the pillow. “I’m supposed to know things.”

“You can’t know everything.”

“What good is my power if I don’t see things like Kate coming?” He groaned. “I’m such an idiot.”

“It’s not your fault, kid.”

Ben couldn’t help blaming himself though. It was in his DNA.

***

Adler glowered at his henchmen. “So…Kate has perished and Neal has a new power. Wonderful.” He stood from his desk, pacing around to the front and leaning back against the surface. “And now all of you are too afraid to try and bring him to me.”

There was a small rumble of agreement from the assembly of demons.

“Fine. I suppose I’ll just have to do it myself. With the right leverage, I’m sure he’ll see things my way.” He peered at the group, selecting one seemingly at random, and tossing an energy ball at the demon’s chest. He burst into flames with a terrible scream. “Now get out.”

The remaining demons vanished without a word.

***

A week later

“Ben, sweetie, do you want some cookies?” Piper called from the back door, eyeing her nephew. He was, at current, staring off into space with a sketchbook in his lap and a pencil tucked behind his ear. She waited a few moments before calling again. “Ben?”

He jumped slightly, turning his head toward her. “What was that?”

“Cookies. Fresh out of the oven.”

He blinked. “Thanks, I’m just not hungry.” He looked down at the sketchbook in his lap.

Piper sighed. Ben hadn’t been eating. She’d made the cookies in the hopes of tempting him. She was worried. Well, everyone was worried, but all they could really do was keep their eyes on him and try to keep him busy.

“Hey, Piper,” Leo whispered, wrapping an arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Is he drawing or just zoning out?”

“I’m not sure. A little of both I think.” She sighed. “She really hurt him.”

“He’ll be okay,” Leo said. “He just needs time.”

“He needs to eat,” Piper said. “You know he isn’t.”

“I know.” Leo rubbed her arm. “Maybe a different approach?”

She raised her eyebrow. “A different approach? Phoebe’s tried, I’ve tried—hell, even Chris tried.”

“Coop hasn’t tried.”

“Coop?”

“Just a feeling.”

“Hey Mom, Dad,” Wyatt called.

They turned back toward the door. “Yes?” Piper replied.

“Uncle Coop is here to pick up Ben.”

“Good,” Piper said. “I need to borrow him.”

Wyatt made a questioning face.

“Where’s Chris?” Leo asked.

“Doing homework,” Wyatt replied. “Melinda is still at Paige’s.”

“Okay.” Piper and Leo followed their son back into the house. Coop was standing in the living room. “Hey, Coop.”

“Piper, where’s Ben?”

“In the yard, staring at his sketchbook.”

“Did he eat?”

“No.” She frowned. “I made cookies. See what you can do, eh?”

Coop took a moment before nodding. “I’ll try.” He walked through the kitchen, snagging a couple cookies before he went out into the yard. “Hey Ben.” He took a seat in the chair next to the teenager. “You ready to come home?”

“Sure.” Ben closed the sketchpad and looked up.

“Cookie?” Coop held it out.

“I’m not—”

“Eat the cookie.”

Ben frowned. “I—”

Coop raised his eyebrows. “Your mom isn’t willing to guilt you into eating, but I am. So eat the cookie before I resort to emotional manipulation. Please.”

Ben sighed, and took the cookie. “That’s cheating.”

“I know.” Coop smiled. “But I care about you. Eat the cookie.”

Coop waited patiently for Ben to finish the cookie before handing him the second. “One more.”

“Are you going to make me eat dinner too, then?”

“Yup.” Coop settled a hand on Ben’s back. “And you’re going to take a shower and sleep at least four hours tonight.”

Ben finished the second cookie and gave Coop a very skeptical look.

“I can tell you think I’m not serious, but I am.”

Ben sighed. “Whatever.”

“Come on, the faster we get home, the faster you can get in the shower.” He helped Ben to his feet. “I promise; it won’t be so bad.”

Somehow, it was easier to take direction than it was for Ben to think for himself just then. Coop waved goodbye, taking Ben’s hand before Beaming them home.

***

Ben tried to focus on school and his cousins continued their attempts to distract him from what had happened with Kate.

“While our friend in the green shirt was a no go,” Ben said to Chris as they walked to their next class, “Will is definitely interested.”

Chris flushed. “That’s a good use of your power, figuring out who’s interested in me.”

“It is a good use of my power,” Ben returned. “Besides, you’ve been all mopey since we got grounded. A nice long make-out session is just what the doctor ordered.”

Chris’s ears turned red. “You're terrible.”

Ben flashed a smile that didn’t fully reach his eyes, but it was better than nothing. “That’s what family is for, right?”

“What about you? Surely there must be someone in this school you could—take your mind off of things with.” Chris’s look was shrewd. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be serious or anything.”

“Yeah, I mean, I know. I just need some more time.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” Chris paused. “I saw Wyatt holding hands with Carol Trevor last period—under the table in Potions.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Oh really? I feel like we should definitely tease him about that.”

“Agreed.”

They were halfway to class when Melinda rushed over to them, eyes a bit wide. “I am so glad I caught up with you.”

“What’s up sis?” Chris asked.

“Someone conjured the Queen of Hearts in the cafeteria and she’s threatening to chop off heads.”

Ben snorted. “Really?”

“Really.” Melinda nodded emphatically. “I can’t find Wyatt but I figure between the three of us we should be able to send her back.”

“The three of us?” Ben blinked. “You think?”

“Definitely, come on.”

Ben glanced at Chris, who shrugged, and headed after his sister. A moment later, Ben followed suit.

“Not to rain on the parade, but how do we even put her back in the book she came from?” Ben asked as they rushed into the cafeteria. The whole room was in an uproar, the source of which being the red-haired whirlwind shouting, “And off with your head!” every other minute.

She also had an ax, which was worrisome.

“Well, Aunt Phoebe is the best at off the cuff spell writing,” Melinda said, glancing at Ben. “Any ideas?”

“I have literally never written a spell.” Ben looked at his cousin with wide eyes.

“You could try,” Melinda pressed.

“Okay. Um.” He pulled a notepad free, eyeing the chaos as he jotted something down. “How about this?”

Chris raised his eyebrows. “That’s not bad. Let’s give it a try.”

The queen of hearts is quite a kook

Send this royal back to her book

Golden lights swirled around the rampaging literary figure, whirling tighter and streaming back into a book fallen on the cafeteria floor.

“It worked,” Ben said. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“We are awesome,” Melinda said. “Clearly.”

“What happened in here?” Leo asked, glancing around the cafeteria.

“Conjuring gone wrong. The Queen of Hearts paid a visit,” Chris explained.

“Okay, who conjured the Queen of Hearts?” Leo asked, glancing around at the still disheveled students.

There was a tentative hand in the air.

“Donnie, you know better,” Leo admonished. “Okay kids, let’s get this cleaned up.”

The bell rang.

“We’re late for class,” Ben said.

“Go ahead,” Leo said. “I’ll let your teacher know what happened.”

“Thanks.”

Wise beyond their years, the Halliwell children hurried off to class.

***

Things had settled into a routine at the three Halliwell households. The boys were still grounded, so their free time was spent closely supervised, but it was clear that close supervision and activity was what Ben needed to work through what had happened with Kate. At the very least, no one had to remind Ben to eat so they were calling it a win.

Baby steps.

But routines are easy to keep track of.

Ben was in the garden at Piper’s for his usual Wednesday afternoon free time. He sketched aimlessly, pausing when he felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. “Who’s there?” He looked around, certain he felt someone watching him.

The sound of clapping drew his attention forward to the man standing in front of him in a sharp suit—Adler.

“What are you doing here?” Ben asked, swallowing.

“I’m here for you, Neal.” Adler smiled.

“I’m not going with you.” Ben stood, sketchpad falling to the ground. “Just go away, Adler. I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”

“That’s really too bad, nephew, because you are coming with me.” Adler’s smile twisted.

“Nephew?”

“That’s right, Neal, I’m your father’s brother.” He reached out, gripping Ben’s arm tight. “And I’m taking you home.”

And then they were gone.

Chapter Text

“Where am I?” Better yet, the kid thought, who am I?

A tall man in a sharp suit, a gentle expression fixed on his face, stood over the couch the fuzzy-headed teen was resting on. “Home, Neal, remember?” Uncle Vincent—his brain supplied the name—gave him a look. “You hit your head pretty hard, sport.”

The teenager blinked, pushing himself up off the couch with one hand and looking around, blinking blearily. “Oh.”

“I was rather worried, Neal. You shouldn’t run off like that. Kate wasn’t too happy either.”

“Kate?” There was something about Kate, but he couldn’t really remember just then.

“What’s wrong, Neal?” The dark-haired girl walked out of his periphery to stand at the end of the couch. “Did those witches hurt you?”

“Uh—no?”

“Don’t worry Kate,” Uncle Vincent said. “He’ll be fine. Why don’t you sit with him for a bit? I’ll be right back.”

“Of course.” She smiled, blue eyes wide.

The man smiled and walked out of the parlor, closing the door behind him tightly. Another demon waited outside.

“I don’t know if a Kieran demon will be enough to distract him,” Adler said. “Keep an eye on them. Bringing him to the dark will be more difficult now that he’s been surrounded by family--but not impossible. No mistakes.”

“Yes, sir.”

Alder nodded sharply and stalked off down the hall.

Back in the room, Kate had put herself in Neal’s lap, stroking his face gently.

“You’re beautiful,” he said.

“I know.” She smiled and kissed him. “You love me, don’t you?”

He nodded.

“Good.”

***

Piper was in the attic, sorting through a box when her phone rang. She frowned, glancing at the caller ID before picking up. “Hey, Henry.”

“Hey, have you checked on Ben lately?”

“He was in the garden ten minutes ago, why?”

“His tracking alert triggered—and it’s not tracking at all now but the last address it managed to ping was in New York.”

Piper frowned. “Let me go downstairs, just a sec.” She didn’t really run, but she did rush a bit down the stairs and out to the garden. The fallen sketchpad caught her attention, more so the drawing drafted onto the surface of the page it was open to. It was a woman with a cruel smile. Something about her set Piper’s hair standing on end.

“Piper? Are you still there?”

“Yes. I’m still here. I need Phoebe here right now.” Piper noted the pencil fallen on the other side of the chair. “Something isn’t right.”

“What is it?”

“His sketchbook is here on the ground, you know how he is about that thing.” She picked it up. “I just—Phoebe needs to get here. Print off the address or whatever you have and come over.”

“I’ll be right there.” Henry hung up.

Piper called her sister.

***

“Glad to see you two have patched things up,” Adler said, walking back into the parlor. Kate was still in Neal’s lap, head resting on his shoulder with a peaceful smile on her lips.

“I still feel kind of—off,” Neal said. “What happened anyway?”

“Some misguided witches, that’s all. Your safe home now though.” Adler smiled. “Once you’re feeling up to it we’ll sort out what to do about them. Can’t have them coming after you again.”

“Of course not.”

“Now. I’ve got lunch ready. All your favorites.” He swept an arm toward the door. “Shall we?”

“Of course, Uncle.”

Kate hopped up off his lap so he could stand, taking his hand with a smile and leading him out of the parlor.

Neal glanced around himself at the dark red walls and polished marble floors as they headed down the hall. It felt familiar and unfamiliar all at the same time. It was a strange feeling. He couldn’t shake it. The dining room fell into the same style as the rest of the house, a dark Rococo of shining black and deep red, gilded demons watching from the tops of black marble pillars.

The dining room table was a marble slab resting on thick legs. Food was laid out on bright red platters. Neal’s eyes widened. “Wow.”

Adler smiled. “Like I said, all your favorites. Sit down, eat.”

Neal nodded, taking a seat. A hazy sort of look on his face.

“After we eat, we can talk about your next job.”

“Job?” Neal looked up from the table. “What job?”

“Well, since you did such wonderful work retrieving that Raphael for me, I think you are finally ready to do someone more challenging.”

Neal smiled. “Really?”

“Oh yes.”

“What’s the job?”

“After we eat,” Adler scolded mildly. “Not more talk of work at the table. Right Kate?”

“Of course.” She sat next to Neal, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so glad your home, Neal.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’m home.”

***

“We’re here, what’s going on?” Phoebe said the moment after she and Coop beamed into the living room.

“Maybe you can get a premonition off of this,” Piper said, holding out the sketchbook. “I found on the ground outside right after Henry called me.”

“On the ground?” Coop raised his eyebrows. “Ben’s not one to leave his sketchbooks lying around like that.”

“I know,” Piper said. “And the woman he drew…there’s just something about her I don’t like. I think it could be his power at work again.”

Phoebe frowned. “I think I’ve seen her before.” She took the sketchpad and froze as the vision overcame her.

She was in a room full of treasures. Paintings hung on the walls, boxes of gold and pedestals holding statues and priceless objects. At the end of the room was a painting of the woman Ben had drawn. She heard voices behind her and turned.

“Are you sure I can do this Uncle Vincent?” Ben asked.

“I’m sure, Neal.” The man Ben had called Uncle Vincent reminded Phoebe somewhat of Cole and the woman in the portrait.

Elizabeth. Phoebe’s eyes widened in realization. She did know the woman Ben had drawn. The woman in the portrait. She was Elizabeth Turner, Cole’s demonic mother.

“I don’t want to disappoint you,” Ben said.

“You won’t.” Vincent smiled. “Now, run along. Kate is waiting for you.”

Ben nodded. “Okay.”

Ben walked out of the room, leaving Phoebe alone with Vincent, as it were. The man smiled. “Silly boy…you were born for purpose and I intend to fulfill it.”

Phoebe shook her head as she cleared free of the vision.

“What did you see?” Piper asked.

“A demon, and a portrait of Elizabeth Turner. I think the demon is one of her children…” Phoebe met her sister’s eyes. “More importantly, he wants to use Ben. He wants to—I think he wants to resurrect the Source with Ben as it’s host. He said that Ben was born for a purpose. We know what the Seer intended for Ben.”

The silence lasted, heavy over them, until Coop spoke.

“We won’t let that happen, Phoebe. We’ll get Ben back.”

She nodded slowly. “His name was Vincent.”

“Vincent Adler,” Chris said, walking into the living room. “I was eavesdropping. Vincent Adler is the name of the demon Ben was afraid of. He told me.”

“And that’s who you were looking for information on in the Underworld?” Leo prompted.

“Yeah. But we didn’t find anything. He must go by another name in the Underworld.”

“He’s playing human,” Phoebe said. “Like Cole did. His demon form is probably similar.” She bit her lip. “Paige, start the vanquishing potion for Belthazor, we might need it.”

“Then what?” Paige asked.

“Then we go down to the Underworld and we find my son.”

***

“Have I always had this ring?” Neal asked, looking down at his hand. He thought it was a bit off somehow. Silver, set with a tear-drop shaped pigeon’s blood ruby. It was—entrancing.

Kate, lounging against him on the couch, shrugged. “Pretty sure. It suits you anyway.” She turned, kissing him. “You know what would be fun?”

“Other than sitting here and kissing you?” He smiled.

“Other than that.” She smiled back. “We should go to a jewelry store and you can get me some earrings.”

He licked his lips. “I could. Sapphires would bring out your eyes.”

“I love sapphires.” She bit her lip, looking up at him through her eyelashes. “Could I get a necklace to match?”

“Of course.” He smiled. “I would do anything for you.”

She smiled brightly. “It makes me so happy to hear you say that.” She ran a hand over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go shopping.”

He nodded, letting her pull him to his feet and off the couch. “There’s this beautiful high-end boutique we can go to.”

“Okay.”

He took her hand and they shimmered out.

***

Everyone had gathered in the attic while Piper hunted through the Book of Shadows. Paige prepped the vanquishing potion. Phoebe was scrying and Coop was trying to keep her calm.

Henry’s phone went off.

“Henry Mitchell.” He listened carefully to the caller, licking his lips. “Okay.” He paused. “Okay.” He nodded. “Right. Thanks.” He hung up. “That was Peter Burke.”

“What did he say?” Phoebe asked.

“He says that Ben walked into a jewelry store with Kate and walked out again with a set of sapphires. The clerk just handed them over. After his head cleared he realized what he had done and called the cops.”

“Just handed them over?” Leo frowned.

“Yeah.”

“Ben does have the power of suggestion.” Leo shook his head. “But he didn’t have any real control over it. At least, that’s what he said.”

“Never mind the fact that Kate is dead.” Phoebe looked at her brother-in-law. “We need to see the security footage ourselves.”

“Peter is emailing it to me,” Henry said.

“This is Adler,” Phoebe said. “He needs to corrupt Ben enough that the Source can take him as a host.”

“Is he starting slow or something?” Henry asked.

“He can’t push too hard,” Leo said. “Ben might have darkness in him but he isn’t capable of hurting anyone. Adler needs to bring him fully under his control before he can turn him.”

“I’ll grab my laptop so we can look at the footage.”

“Thanks, Henry.”

“How much time do you think we have?”

“It takes time to turn a witch,” Leo said. “But he could be using an artifact or a potion to help him.”

“I will not let that bastard hurt my son.”

“It’s going to be okay, Phoebe,” Coop put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find him.”

“I’ve got it!” Henry called, running into the attic and setting his laptop on the table, pulling up the footage.

They gathered around the laptop and watched.

“That’s definitely, Kate.” Phoebe chewed on her lower lip. “Or at least, it looks like Kate.”

“Adler could easily be using a demon with shape-shifting powers to pass as Kate. He could’ve erased some of Ben’s memories.” Leo shook his head. “He needed to be able to control him. Kate—or at least someone Ben thinks is Kate—gives him that.”

“What are we going to tell Agent Burke?” Piper asked. “About all this?”

Henry shook his head. “I have no idea.”

***

“I knew they would bring out your eyes,” Neal said.

Kate smiled. “I do love them.”

“Well,” Adler walked into parlor, eyeing the new jewelry. “Nicely done, Neal.”

“Like stealing candy from a baby,” he replied. “Just a little game before the big job. Settle my nerves a bit.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” He smiled. “But speaking of that, we should get started, sport.”

Neal nodded. “Of course. Sorry, Kate, this one’s solo.”

“That’s okay, Neal.” She smiled, kissing his cheek. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Of course.” He smiled back and followed Adler out of the room.

Kate waited until the door was closed before standing. Her whole appearance wavered and then changed. Blonde, blue eyed and somewhat more well-endowed than Kate. She huffed, fingering the necklace absently. Now she was bored. The demoness hummed to herself for a moment before shimmering out of the room.

***

The gallery was quiet and dark when Neal shimmered into a camera blind spot. He glanced around, pausing when he saw what he was there for. A glass case in the middle of the room housed a silver box engraved with terrifying faces and set with rubies. It was intricate, heavy and incredibly valuable. Neal glanced at the cameras and smiled before disappearing from sight. A few moments later, breathe fogged the glass. Seemingly by itself, the case was unlocked, and the alarm disabled before the case was lifted up. The box rose up—and then vanished.

***

“I got it,” Neal said, setting the box down on the table in front of Adler. “It was easy.”

“With your powers? I had no doubt.” Adler smiled. He pulled the box closer, waving his hand over one of the demon faces. There was a soft click and the side of the box popped open to reveal a small compartment. Inside was a ring identical to the one Neal was already wearing. “Ah, perfect.” He picked up the ring and slipped onto his right middle finger. The gem flashed and a moment later, Neal’s eyes flashed red. “How do you feel Neal?”

He blinked and shook his head. “I feel—powerful.” He smiled. “I feel good.”

“Good.” Adler smiled. “Let’s test that shall we?”

“What are we doing?”

“Just a little test. Don’t worry, it’s going to be fun. I promise.”

“Okay, Uncle.”

***

The park was nearly empty when Adler and Neal arrived. “Why are we here?” Neal asked. “There’s nothing to steal.” They’d come in near a path that wound through the trees, fenced off from the grass.

“We aren’t here to steal anything.” The older man smiled. “We’re here for a witch. Just wait.”

Something like confusion flickered across Neal’s face, gone almost as fast as it appeared, but he nodded in affirmation.

Ten minutes later, a woman came walking down the path.

“There she is,” Adler whispered. “I need you to kill her, Neal.”

He frowned. “What?”

“Kill her.” Adler rubbed at the ring.

Neal’s eyes flashed red again. “Yes, Uncle.” With casual ease, he brought an energy ball forth in his hand but as she drew closer, his expression darkened, breath hitching in his chest. “I—”

“Kill her.”

Neal swallowed, shaking his head.

“Kill her.”

He closed his fist around the energy ball, dissolving it, before turning back to Adler. “I won’t do that. What’s wrong with you?”

Adler frowned. “I suppose it just needs more time to work then.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sleep.”

Neal slumped down, Adler catching him quickly and then shimmering out.

***

“Well,” Paige said, brushing dust off her shoulders, “our demon’s name is Azarias. He’s the full-blooded son of Elizabeth Turner and Cole’s half-brother and you do not want to know about the giant spiders in that part of the Magic School Library.” Her eyes were a bit wide. “I’m going to have nightmares.”

“Okay,” Piper said. “How do we stop him?”

“We don’t.” Paige gesturing at herself and Piper. “It’s up to Phoebe and Coop. I took a closer look at the footage from the jewelry store, the ring Ben was wearing is one of a set designed by a demonic sorcerer called Zarztosht. The ring Ben is wearing is for control, if Azarias has the other one he’ll be able to make Ben do whatever he wants—eventually. The rings don’t work immediately, it takes exposure and time to turn the victim.”

“So what exactly makes me and Coop the ones to save him?” Phoebe asked.

“The spell on the rings can only be broken by purest love. Like parents for their children.” Paige’s lips tightened. “I do love Ben, but you’re his mother and Coop—I know you love him too.”

The cupid nodded.

“If you can break the ring’s hold on Ben, we can stop Azarias with a vanquishing potion but the spell has to be broken before we vanquish him or his essence could infect Ben through the connection of the rings.”

Piper grunted in irritation. “Okay, so will the Belthazor potion work on Azarias?”

“No.” Paige made a face and pulled out a folded piece of paper from her front jean pocket. “But this one will.”

“Then let’s get started.”

Chapter Text

The bed was soft. It was Neal’s first conscious thought upon opening his eyes. The second, a fraction of a second later, was that he wasn’t sure where he was. He pushed off the covers, noting the deep red color, and had to crawl to reach the side of the incredibly wide bed before swinging his legs over the side and standing. He stretched, rolling his neck and padding toward an open doorway, discovering the bathroom.

Neal took a shower and found fresh clothes in a heavy wardrobe opposite the bed. As he sorted through the drawer of neatly folded dress shirts, his brow furrowed in confusion. He had a momentary flash, digging through the shirts with expectation that there would be t-shirts in there somewhere. He blinked.

He pulled out a striped shirt and put it on, pulling slacks from the other drawer when he couldn’t find jeans. Something about that bothered him too, but he ignored it. He exited the bedroom and found himself in a hallway.

Adler appeared a moment later, a smile fixed on his face. “Ah, you’re awake.”

“Uncle.”

“Those clothes suit you so much.” His eyes softened. “Though you should have a tie and there is a blazer that matches those trousers.”

Neal shrugged. “I’m not much of a suit guy.”

“I think you will be.” He held out a hand. “Come along, breakfast is waiting.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

***

“I can’t find him,” Mozzie said. “This Azarias is a nasty son of bitch. Wherever it is he’s holed in the Underworld is incredibly well-protected. He might be more paranoid than I am.” He fussed with his glasses.

“I don’t know what else to do,” Phoebe said. Her face was drawn, somewhat paler than usual. None of them had gotten much sleep over the past few days that Ben had been missing. “I can’t even seem to get a vision anymore.”

The overall mood in the attic was dour at best.

Downstairs, the oldest Halliwell children were supposed to be watching the youngest while the adults worked. The reality was that Wyatt, Chris, Melinda, PJ and the twins were gathered in the kitchen for a war meeting of their own.

“Okay, Chris, what’s your plan?” Kat asked. The oldest of Paige’s twin girls, she tended to be more forward than her sister. Together, they shared the powers to accelerate and decelerate particles, just like Piper. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that together, the scope of their power would eventually rival their Aunt’s. All three of Piper’s children, on the other hand, had highly developed telekinesis. And while PJ’s active witch powers were still something of a mystery, she still had her cupid powers to fall back on.

“We know they’ve tried everything to find Ben and this demon. They’ve tried calling for a lost witch,” Chris started, “but I think what we should try this spell instead.” He opened his notebook. “It’s a bit more—powerful.”

Wyatt took a look at the spell and ingredients list. He raised his eyebrows. “You could probably raise the dead with this, Chris.”

“Yeah well, you have a better idea?”

“No. But with all of us together we should have enough power.”

PJ frowned. “You really think we should be the ones doing this?”

“I think our parents haven't slept in days and they’re exhausted.” Chris pushed his hair back from his face. “I don’t want to lose Ben. All we have to do is get him here and then Aunt Phoebe can do the rest.”

“What if the whole family, cast this spell? Wouldn’t that break through—anything?” Melinda asked. “This demon might have a fortress in the Underworld but together we should be able to bring Ben back.”

“You mean all of us as in the cousins? Or all of us as in our moms and the cousins?” Wyatt asked.

“The latter,” Melinda confirmed. “We use Chris’s amped up calling spell—all of us.”

“There are ingredients here that aren’t exactly easy to find,” Tamora, the youngest twin, said. “Where are we even going to get Kotochul eggs?”

Chris smiled. “Leave that to me and Wyatt.”

“Okay,” Melinda gave her brothers a look, “does that mean I have to tell the adults the plan?”

“Uh…sounds good,” Wyatt said. He grabbed Chris. “Have fun.” And they orbed out.

Melinda sighed. “You know, sometimes I really hate having brothers.”

***

“Where exactly are your brothers?” Piper asked, staring down at her daughter.

“Chris didn’t say. He just said he would take care of the ingredients,” Kat answered. “But the plan is solid. No matter what defenses this demon has set up he can’t beat all of us together.”

“Well it’s not a bad plan,” Leo said. “I just don’t like the idea of the kids being in the same room with us if Azarias decides to follow Ben.”

“We’ll stick close to Wyatt,” Melinda said. “He can push his shield out far enough to get all of us if we stick close.”

Phoebe blinked and frowned. “We aren’t going to win this argument, are we?”

The twins smiled. “No.”

The adults were terribly outnumbered.

Chris and Wyatt returned a few minutes later, looking a bit worse for wear.

“Why are you covered in mud?” Piper asked.

“We were in a swamp,” Wyatt said.

“Did you fall into the swamp?” she continued.

“Maybe.” Chris shrugged. “And maybe the one who laid the egg didn’t want to give it up.” He made a face. “But we got it.”

Leo sighed. “It’s like déjà vu.”

Chris flushed. “No idea what you mean.”

“Uh huh.” His father gave him a very skeptical look.

“Let’s get this spell cast,” Phoebe said. “I’ll start on the physical side of things.”

Chris handed her the muddy egg he and Wyatt had acquired. “You’ll need this.”

“Okay.” She took the egg and headed over to the table to start working. “How much research did you do putting this together, Chris?”

“All of my study halls and during some of my more boring classes.”

She smiled. “Thanks, sweetie.”

“He’s family,” Chris shrugged, “and I actually like him.”

“Oh my god,” Mozzie said.

“What?” Phoebe glanced at the diminutive whitelighter.

“Ben is calling me.” He licked his lips. “I have to go.”

“Wait—”

And he was gone.

***

A few minutes earlier in the Underworld

Adler stroked the ring, watching Neal’s eyes flash red. He’d been at this for hours, strengthening the bond between the rings, influencing the teenager’s mind.

“There’s something you need to do now, Neal,” Adler said.

The boy blinked. “Yes, Uncle.”

“Call your whitelighter, it’s time we sever that connection.”

“Yes, Uncle.” He tilted his head to one side, expression blank. “Mozzie!” He blinked again. “Mozzie!”

Moments later, Mozzie orbed in. Adler smiled.

“Ben? Are you okay?”

“Neal, kill him.”

Mozzie looked from Adler to Ben, uncertain. “Ben, it’s Mozzie. Ben?”

The boy’s head tilted again.

“I said, kill him, Neal.”

The teenager summoned an energy ball, eyes dilated and tinged red around the edges.

“Ben, snap out of it!”

He raised his head, looking up at Mozzie. “Mozzie?”

“Kill him.”

He threw the energy ball, but missed, hitting the wall behind Mozzie.

“Mozzie run,” he managed. “Run!”

Mozzie blinked and orbed away.

Alder snarled, stalking toward the teenager. “I told you to kill him!”

Neal took a step back, and another, until Adler had him backed against the wall. “I…”

Adler struck him across the face with another snarl, the sharp edge of the ring slicing across Neal’s cheek. “Stupid boy.” He grabbed his shirtfront, lifting Neal off his feet. “Stop resisting me!”

The red vanished from his eyes. “Never.”

Alder hit him again. “I tried to do this the easy way, but I will tear your mind apart to get what I need.”

Ben clenched his jaw. “I won’t kill anyone.”

“We’ll see about that.”

***

Peter Burke was honestly certain that his life had been easier before he knew demons and magic were real. At the same time, however, it was comforting to know there were so many people out in the world working to stop evil.

“You have that, I’m thinking about magic, look on your face, hon,” Elizabeth said, pressing a cup of coffee into her husband’s hands. “What’s wrong?”

“Just wondering how I went from chasing a kid who forged bonds to wondering if that kid is going to end up the puppet of some demon. A demon. Because those are real.” He shook his head. “You hear anything new about Ben?”

Elizabeth sighed, taking a seat on the couch next to him. “They’re working on something to bring him home. Phoebe is sick with worry. She can’t lose him again.”

Peter set down the coffee cup and took his wife’s hand, squeezing. “If anyone can bring him back, they can. I’ve never seen a family so determined. Except maybe yours.” He smiled at her.

“Aw, thanks hon.” She kissed him. “You know, speaking of kids…there’s something I need to tell you. I was putting it off but—I think you need some good news.”

Peter raised his eyebrows.

“We’re having a baby.”

“Really?” A smile stretched across his face.

“Really.” She smiled back. “About two months along now.”

He exhaled, shaking his head. “That is the best news I have had in weeks.” He laughed. “I’m going to be a father.”

“Yup.”

He pulled her close, kissing her properly. “Best news ever.”

***

A frazzled Mozzie orbed back into the Halliwell Manor.

“Did you see Ben?” Phoebe asked. “Is he okay?”

“I did and not really.” He shook his head. “The ring is definitely influencing Ben but…he came back for a minute. Adler tried to make him kill me—but his control isn’t complete. Ben wouldn’t do it.”

“Could you get back there again?” Phoebe asked.

“Only if he calls for me. That place is heavily shielded. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He shook his head. “We have to hurry. Ben is slipping away.”

Phoebe swallowed, shifting her shoulders back. “Let’s get this spell cast. Now.”

The attic was a bit cramped for everyone, so they took it downstairs. Once they had the kids corralled close to Wyatt the spell ingredients were prepared and the spell, a shorter, more to the point version of the calling a lost witch spell.

The chorus of voices echoed, the power building in the room.

The final refrain of the spell practically pulsed through the air. Golden lights flickered and floated through the air, pulling together in the center of the room. The swirled and pulsed.

“Please,” Phoebe whispered.

The light gave way to a shape, a tall, lean teenager in a dark dress shirt, blood on his cheek and lip split, hair mussed. He fell to his knees, catching himself on his hands with a soft grunt.

“Ben!”

He shook his head, picking himself up off the floor and looked around. Phoebe could the tension, confusion and a flash of fear as he steadied himself. His expression cleared as he met her eyes. “Mom?”

“Are you okay?” She pulled him close. “Did he hit you?”

“Honestly, that was probably a good thing, shook the marbles loose.” He glanced down at his hand. “The ring won’t come off.”

“We have to break the spell first and then the ring will come off,” Paige said.

“How?” Ben asked.

“Love,” Phoebe hugged him tight, projecting what she felt for him. Projecting everything she’d hoped for him. After a moment the ring flashed. Ben tugged at it, but it was still stuck firm. Coop pulled them both into his arms, combining his power with Phoebe’s. It created a soft pink glow visible to the whole room—and the ring flashed again, brighter and brighter until suddenly went dark, a sharp snap sounded as a fissure cracked through the stone.

Ben exhaled sharply. “It’s done. I can’t feel it anymore.”

Phoebe and Coop pulled back, cataloguing injuries with uncertain expressions, hands still on his shoulders, unwilling to let go. Ben twisted at the ring again—and fell into a sharply focused vision.

For a moment he thought he was mistaken, because the room and his position in it were exactly the same—and then Alder appeared with his henchmen. He watched his family get caught in the crossfire of magic. He watched Parker die. And Chris. Saw darklighters put arrows in Leo and Mozzie. Watched as people frantically orbed and beamed away.

And then he was back. His hands shook.

“Get the kids out now!” he shouted.

Without blinking, Wyatt and Chris orbed the cousins away. Ben turned back to Phoebe, eyes wide. “He’s coming…he’s bringing too many people with him. I have to go. He’ll follow me. I know he will.”

“Ben, no, I can’t—” Phoebe shook her head.

“Mom, I love you. Please trust me.” He swallowed. “I can do this. Just—wait for my signal.”

“Ben,” Coop started, “be careful.”

Ben nodded. “I will.” He considered carefully what he wanted to say in the brief seconds he had left. What if this is the last time I ever see them? What if this is the last thing I get to say?, he thought. He took a breath and hugged Phoebe tight and then Coop. “I love you too, Dad.”

He stepped back. “Just watch.”

“Okay.”

And then—he was gone.

***

Adler had his troops gathered in the large hall, preparing to go after his nephew once again when the boy shimmered into the room. He stopped his pacing, raising his eyebrows at the boy.

“You came back.” Adler blinked slowly.

“Of course I came back, Uncle.” Ben smiled, channeling every inch of conman he’d cultivated over the last few years. “Why wouldn’t I?” A hasty spell had masked the damage to the ring and if there’s one thing a conman learned quickly, it was how to bluff.

“I was afraid those witches got to you again.”

“I got away,” Ben replied. “There were too many to try and take one out though. Sorry.”

“No, no,” Adler smiled. “You did well coming back home.” He reached out and it took all of Ben’s control not to flinch away as Adler combed a hand through his hair, putting it back into a semblance of order. “You think you’re ready to finally do as I’ve asked you?”

Ben smiled, but it was an empty smile, eyes cold. “Just tell me who you want me to kill.”

“Good boy.” Adler smiled. “Good boy.”

Chapter Text

“How many potion vials do you have ready?” Piper asked. “I didn’t even know we had this many vials.”

“I went to the store,” Phoebe replied. “And I just want to be prepared for anything that might turn up.” She shrugged.

“Fair enough.”

Henry joined Victor to watch the kids at the manor. Everyone else was focused on preparing for whatever came next. Watching for Ben’s signal, whatever that was. The mood was lighter than it had been, but still tense.

In the living room, Coop and Leo were sorting through a box of potion ingredients.

Coop paused. “Ben—he isn’t sure he’s going to make it.” He swallowed. “I could feel it.”

“He’s scared,” Leo replied.

“I know. I hate that I’m not there for him right now. That I’m not there for the girls right now.”

“They know why you’re here.” Leo squeezed his shoulder. “This will all be over soon.”

“I hope so.”

***

Adler had decided to wait and so Ben tried to sleep. He wasn’t sure he could sleep, but giving it a go seemed like a plan. He was exhausted. There was something new, though. Something different about his power that he couldn’t quite get hold of. A sort of tug in his chest, warm and—like a lifeline. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling of it. It was a thick rope that branched out, the individual strands leading to different places—and instinctively, he knew they went to different people. The central strand he was certain would take him back to his Mom and as he rolled those strands through his mind he slowly identified the ones that went to his family, the one that went to Mozzie—the frayed line that used to connect him to Kate.

Heartstrings. He’d never thought the term would be so literal, but with his Empathy on line and the way the ring’s spell was broken… It seemed this was the result. A direct connection to his loved ones. One of the strings was different though. Faded somehow. He tugged on it out of curiosity and found himself pulled into what seemed to be a vision.

It was a room with rounded walls and no doors, no conceivable way in or out. He turned slowly, coming face to face with—

“Cole. You’re Cole.”

He smiled. “I was hoping for Dad, but I’ll take it.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Last time we chatted—were you ever really there?”

Cole made a face, waving his hand back and forth. “It’s complicated.”

“Okay. Why are we here now?”

“You followed the love I have for you back to me.” He smiled. “A shadow of me, more like.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Okay.”

“So, you’ve met your uncle.”

“He’s an asshole.”

Cole laughed. “Yeah. He is.”

“I don’t know how I’m getting out of this,” Ben admitted. “I put on a smile and I tell everyone it’ll be okay but I can’t promise that.”

Cole put a hand on his shoulder. “You are so much like your mother; you know that? As far as what you’re going to do—you’re going to draw him out into the open. Signal your mom through your bond. Show her where to find you and then she will vanquish the demon.”

“Draw him out how? He’s probably going to tell me to kill my whitelighter again and he’ll just have me call for him.”

“You can do this, Ben. I know you can. You can play my brother. He thinks he’s smarter than everyone else but I know you are smarter than him. Use that.” Cole closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. “I wish I had more time with you. I wish I could have been there for you.”

“You died. It’s okay.”

Cole shook his head. “I was stupid.” He managed a smile. “But Coop is going to be a great father to you, Ben. I know it.” He pulled Ben into his arms. “I love you, son. I will always love you and I will always be there—that little string tied to your heart.”

Ben’s breath hitched as he returned the embrace, burying his face in Cole’s shoulder. “Will I see you again?”

“Only in the mirror, kid.” Cole’s voice broke. “Be careful.”

“I’ll try.”

Ben opened his eyes, and found himself back in the bedroom. His heart ached a bit and he brushed tears off his cheeks with the back of his hand.

“I’m not going to let you down—Dad.”

***

It had taken a lot of thought, but Ben was pretty sure he had a plan nailed together by the time Adler sent for him. He went to the trouble of a suit and tie. The first impression you made on a mark was the most lasting. He had to make sure Adler believed he was in this all the way. If he had to put on a tie to do it—well that wasn’t a big sacrifice or anything.

“I’m pleased to see you putting your best foot forward, Neal,” Adler said. “The suit looks good.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Ben smiled.

“Now, I think it’s time we took care of that whitelighter of yours, don’t you?”

“Of course.” Ben frowned. “But he’s too paranoid to come here again. He’ll know it’s a trap. We should go to the surface, call him in somewhere innocuous. Somewhere he feels safe. Then I can kill him.”

Alder raised his eyebrows and then smiled. “That is a very good point, Neal.” He hummed to himself for a moment. “All right. Let’s go someplace public. Where would your whitelighter consider a safe place?”

“He has a series of safe houses. I know which one he’ll be in today.”

“Good.” Adler squeezed his shoulder. “I just know you’re going to make me proud, Neal.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

***

Mozzie sorted his safe houses by days of the week. He was a special sort of whitelighter, Mozzie. He hadn’t been the typical do-gooder when he died, but he had done good. A lot of good, actually. More than he had ever considered to be honest. Sure, there were the cons, the jobs the crisscrossing of legalities, but there was also good. And when he died, saving the life of a child, he became a whitelighter. The perfect whitelighter for kids like Ben.

Even if he hadn’t been officially assigned so much as simply took the job before someone else could.

Ben didn’t know any of that. He just knew that Mozzie had been there for him when no one else was, and he was going to make sure that Adler didn’t get anywhere near his friend.

The safe house Ben brought Adler to was located in an old warehouse. The middle of the warehouse was taken up mostly by a Zen sand garden in a raised platform. A decidedly odd thing to be inside a derelict building.

But that was Mozzie.

Adler looked around the room, eyebrows raised. “This is—unusual.”

Ben shrugged. “He’s kind of odd, what can I say?”

Adler held out his hand, summoning a black crossbow, already set with a bolt. “You should have the right tool for the job.”

Ben blinked. “Of course. Thank you.” He took the crossbow. He wasn’t a hundred percent certain that what he was about to do was going to work, but he had to try. He pretended to check over the crossbow’s functionality while tapping back into that feeling he’d had last night. The string that tied him back to his mother. He found it faster than he thought he would.

A link between them.

Mom.

***

Phoebe was half-asleep, resting on the couch after Coop insisted. He was settled on the couch next to her, an arm around her shoulders. Her eyes fluttered open, head raising. She frowned.

“What is it?” Coop asked.

“I—could swear I just heard Ben’s voice.”

Mom.

Her mouth opened slightly. Without thinking, she closed her eyes, locking down on the feeling and finding the link back to him with an ease that came from years of practice.

Ben?

She could feel a touch of surprise from the link, followed by a hint of joy. As she opened her eyes she found herself in a warehouse and realized that she was seeing through Ben’s eyes. Through the empathic link between their power and through the love they shared. It wasn’t quite like what she shared with Coop, but given time she thought it would be much like what she had with her daughters.

She saw Adler, and expansive warehouse. The raised platform. Bamboo plants in one corner.

Mozzie knows where this is. Adler brought seven of his demons with him. Be careful.

As quick as the bond was formed, it was gone. Phoebe blinked. “Mozzie!” She stood up as the whitelighter orbed in.

“What is it?”

“Do you know a place. It was like a warehouse but there was a raised platform and bamboo plants…”

“Yeah, it’s one of my safehouses,” Mozzie said. “Why?”

“That’s where Ben is right now. With Adler and seven other demons.” She looked at Coop. “Ben figured out how tap into our empathic bond.”

“Well done, Ben,” Coop said.

“Very well done, considering he’s only been an Empath for a few weeks now,” Mozzie added. “Well, round up the cavalry, no doubt Ben is going to be calling for me any—” He raised his head. “Right now.” He grabbed for a pad of paper and pen, jotting down an address. “Here.”

“Go,” Phoebe said, “We’ll be right behind you.”

“Okay.” Mozzie left.

“Piper! Paige! We have to go now!” Phoebe shouted, picking up the bag she’d prepared.

Footsteps sound on the stairs and from the kitchen as everyone gathered together in the living room.

“What are we up against?” Piper asked.

“Eight demons, counting Azarias.”

“Let’s go,” Paige said.

They joined hands and were gone.

***

Ben’s hands were clammy. He’d always had a bit of nerves before any job but this—this was different. The adrenaline made him feel jittery instead of focused. He couldn’t help but consider all the ways this could go wrong. He hadn’t had any premonitions about what was about to happen.

His time was up when Mozzie orbed in. His thoughts raced, possibilities considered and discarded. The only way out of this was through it.

“All right, Neal, do it,” Adler said.

Ben turned to Mozzie, aimed high, and fired the bolt over the whitelighter’s head. A moment later, he had an energy ball in hand, flinging it with decidedly more accuracy at one of Adler’s men. The demon burst into flames, vanishing into a pile of ash.

Seven.

More orb lights signaled the sisters’ arrival. Potions and powers put to efficient use.

Six. Five. Four. Three.

Ben took down another.

Two.

The speed of the attack set Adler back, but now he retaliated, throwing an energy ball at Ben with a snarl.

“Energy ball!” Paige shouted, redirecting the projectile at Adler’s last goon.

One.

Phoebe through a potion at Adler. It exploded on contact with his chest—but the demon still stood. Ben followed up with an energy ball, knocking Adler back a few steps.

“You think you can kill me with potions? You think you can kill me with those pathetic powers?” Adler sneered. “Pathetic.”

In spite of his bravado, Ben could see the pinched look of fear Adler was trying to hide. He tossed another energy ball, searing through Adler’s suit and managing to do some damage. Phoebe took one look at the damage and pulled a knife from her bag, throwing it with practiced precision to thunk into Adler’s shoulder.

He growled, pulling the blade free and dropping it onto the concrete floor.

“We aren’t done!” he promised with a snarl and shimmered out of sight.

Ben exhaled sharply, hands shaking with adrenaline. Phoebe rushed over, looking him over.

“Are you hurt?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No, but we should move. He’ll come back with more people.”

Phoebe nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ve got the manor demon-proofed. We’ll be safe there until we can track him back down and vanquish his ass for good.”

“Okay.”

Paige picked up the knife, a bright smile fixed on her face. “Well, I think we’ve got the missing piece now.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Huh?”

“Your friend there bled on this knife.” Paige deposited it in a plastic bag she pulled out of her potion bag. “With it, we can amp up these vanquishing potions and get the bastard.”

“Good.” Ben tilted his head up. “He needs to go to hell.”

“He will,” Piper said. “First though, we get you home.”

Ben nodded, joining hands with Paige and the others, and letting them orb him back to the manor.

***

After being hugged with crushing force by every family member in his immediate vicinity, Ben decided he needed both a shower and a change of clothes—since he couldn’t leave the manor he borrowed some clothes from Wyatt. They were close to the same size.

“You look happier,” Phoebe remarked.

He shrugged, “I’m just glad I was able to get through to you.”

She smiled. “That was impressive, Ben. Really.”

“I just—I followed what I felt back to you and that connection let us communicate.” He managed a smile. “It felt good.”

Phoebe hugged him again. “I’m just glad you’re all right.”

“I don’t—if he’d had me any longer I don’t know if I would have been able to stop what he was doing to me.” He swallowed. “I never want to feel that kind of darkness again. Never.”

“That’s because you have a good heart.” She wrinkled her nose. “Come on, I bet you’re hungry. Then we can regroup and vanquish Azarias with the potion that Paige is working on.”

“I can get us back to his hideout, I’m sure of it,” Ben said.

“I’d rather you weren’t put in anymore danger.” She led him downstairs to the kitchen. “Sit, eat.”

He sighed. “You really should just let me go along. I mean—how else are you going to find his lair?”

“Well, you could tell us where it is,” Piper said. “Do you want a sandwich?”

“What I want is to be there when he bursts into flames.” Ben grimaced. “That’s a little vindictive, isn’t it?” He glanced up at his mother.

“Can’t blame you for that, he tried to make you kill your whitelighter.” She squeezed his shoulder. “Sandwich?”

“I’d rather have a cookie,” he replied.

“I can do that,” Piper said. She picked up the jar from the counter and set it down on the table. “You can have as many cookies as you want, Ben.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Aunt Piper.”

“Well, you were kidnapped by your evil demonic uncle so…it seems fair.”

“Thanks.”

“So he is the guy that hired you to steal that painting then, isn’t he?” Paige asked, taking a cookie for herself.

“Yeah.” Ben frowned. “I guess you can see why I didn’t want Agent Burke going after him.”

“Definitely,” Phoebe said. “You were trying to protect him.”

Ben nodded and took another cookie.

“Okay,” Piper said, “the plan. Ben tells us where to find Azarias and then we go in and vanquish him. After we all get some sleep.”

“Are you sure he won’t be able to follow us here?”

“The whole house is currently encased in a crystal cage,” Leo said. “Also, Page set up her evil alert system again.”

“Evil alert system?” Ben raised an eyebrow.

“Conch shells, magic, it’s a thing,” Paige waved her hand dismissively. “I’ll just be happy when this demon is vanquished and we can go back to life as normal.” She looked at her nephew. “You need normal, kid.”

“Yeah. I think I do.”

***

Ben woke up on the couch, half-convinced he was late to class before he remembered what was going on. He groaned, pushing himself up into an upright position and looking around.

“Morning,” Coop said softly. “Well, not actually morning. You were exhausted. Having the spell broken and all that time in the Underworld—not really restful.”

Ben nodded, wiping sleep crust from his eyes. “Coffee?”

“I’ll see what I can do. Let’s head to the kitchen.”

“Is Mom still here?” Ben got up from the couch and followed Coop into the kitchen.

“She and your aunts are upstairs. I think they’re boosting that potion.” He started the coffee pot before leaning back against the counter, crossing his arms. “And I know what you’re thinking.”

“You do?” Ben leaned on the island. “What’s that?”

“You’re thinking that since she’s still here, since they are still here, you have a chance to go with them for the vanquish.”

He flushed. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You know that I can tell when you lie, right?” Coop smiled. “So you and me are going to be joined at the hip until this is over. Understand?”

“I should be there,” Ben argued.

“And yet you won’t be.”

“I could just follow them there.”

“Yes, and I can just beam you back.” Coop gave him a look. “I can do that with all my loved ones.”

Ben swallowed. “I thought—you know I thought I wasn’t going to make it back. Right?”

“I do.”

“But I meant what I said.” He glanced down at his hands.

“I know, son.” Coop smiled. “And that is why you are staying behind. Because I love you. Because we all love you and you’ve been through enough. Too much.”

The teenager sighed. “I know you want to protect me. I just…”

“You’re making coffee?” Phoebe asked, walking into the kitchen. “And my sleeping prince is awake!” She kissed Ben’s cheek before moving on to her husband. “We’re almost set.”

“Are you sure I can’t go with you?” Ben pleaded.

She frowned. “You are staying put. Azarias is very dangerous. I won’t put you in his cross-hairs again.”

Ben nodded, but it was pretty clear to both Coop and Phoebe that he wasn’t entirely resigned to staying behind. He’d slip off after them the first chance he got. It’s just—who he was.

“This will all be over soon,” Phoebe promised.

“I know.” Ben nodded. “I know.”

Chapter Text

Azarias was furious. His demons took the brunt of it. Bodies littered his Underworld abode in a display of his temper.

“How dare he?” he screamed. “How dare he?”

His minions stayed as far away as possible, skirting out of eyesight.

“I’m going to kill him this time. Family be damned.”

***

It was past midnight at the Halliwell manor and Ben was wide awake. He’d always been something of a night owl, but this was an intentional wake up call. He had a plan to take down Adler and he wasn’t going to get his family injured in the process.

Silently, he got out of bed and shimmered up to the attic where vials of the vanquishing potion Paige had prepared were waiting for use. He slipped a couple into his pockets before shimmering back down to the back door. He couldn’t shimmer out of the house with the crystal cage in place. He eyed the crystal closest to the door for a moment. He reached out to pick it up and—

“Nope.”

He jumped. “Oh—hey Coop.”

If Ben hadn’t found Coop in any way imposing before, he certainly did now. The man was incredibly tall.

“Go back to bed, Ben.”

“I wasn’t going to—”

“Benjamin.”

“I’m going.”

“I’ll go with you.” Coop put a hand on his elbow and steered him back up the stairs to Chris’s room, which Ben was borrowing.

“I don’t need to be tucked in.”

“Uh-huh.” Coop raised an eyebrow. “Shoes off and into bed.”

Ben sighed and toed off his shoes. “I should be going with them.”

“Bed.”

He hadn’t had all that much practice with being a sulky teenager outside of cons, but he was starting to see why it was so appealing.

“Ben.”

He got back into bed and huffed. “This is ridiculous.”

Coop walked over, tucking the blankets in around the recalcitrant teen. After a moment he paused and raised his eyebrows. “Give me my watch back, Ben.”

With a half-smile, Ben fished the watch free and handed it over. “Force of habit.”

“Uh huh.” Coop shook his head and finished tucking him in. “Good night, Ben.”

Ben waited until Coop left to sigh dramatically. He made a face, considering for a moment before he smiled. This, was not over yet.

***

The morning dawned and Ben once again had a plan. It was a slightly better plan than sneaking out in the middle of the night, and definitely more flashy. After the spell at the cafeteria had worked, Ben had started to consider he might actually have a knack for spell writing and took it upon himself to give himself an edge in this situation.

He had to be two places at the same time. Or at the very least—look like he was. The spell created an illusory double. It wouldn’t last long, but it would last long enough. It wasn’t much more complicated than stuffing the bed to make it look like he was still sleeping, but the illusion looked like it was breathing, something pillows could not do.

Ben himself used his invisibility to his advantage and stuck close by the sisters as they finished preparing for Adler.

“Where’s Ben?” Phoebe asked.

“Sleeping,” Coop replied. “I just checked on him. You should get going before he wakes up and tries to tag along.”

She nodded. “Good thinking. Shall we?” She held her hands out to Paige and Piper. Ben hooked a hand on Piper’s bag. Leo pulled a crystal out of position and Paige orbed out with an extra passenger—none the wiser.

Immediately upon arrival to Adler’s underground manor, Ben shimmered into a more discrete location behind a pillar to watch. Even invisible, he wasn’t going to take any chances.

There was an immediate influx of demons into the room, but the sisters took care of them without any real trouble. Ben frowned. Adler should have been first on the scene—shouldn’t he? Ben frowned. If Adler wasn’t here. Where would he be?

Of course.

He wasn’t sure he should leave everyone here high and dry, as it were, but he was pretty sure they would be safer here than where he was headed. Then again, if the powers that be wanted them to follow, he was pretty sure Mom would get a vision and run to the rescue.

He took a deep breath and shimmered back to the surface.

***

The sisters searched the entirety of Azarias’ complex, vanquishing his demons but finding no evidence that the man himself was still in residence.

“I don’t understand,” Phoebe said. “This is definitely the man’s lair, I found the shirt Ben was wearing when he was taken.”

“Maybe he figured we would come after him and left?” Paige suggested. “There has to be somewhere else he would go.”

“What about that vision you had before? Of the house in New York?” Piper said.

“The house with the man…The man I saw was Azarias.” Phoebe’s eyes widened slightly. “Let me try to get another vision.”

“We passed an office on the way here, you could try to get something off something in there.”

Phoebe nodded and they headed back to the office. Phoebe looked around the room and focused her attention on the desk set. The expensive looking pen resting on the blotter looked promising. She picked it up, closed her eyes, and focused.

It was the same room she’d seen before with the portrait of Lady Elizabeth. Azarias was standing in front of it. Ben was faced off in front of him, wearing an expression she’d never seen on her son’s face before. It reminded her of Cole. Determination and strength—but mixed with something like resignation.

He thought he was going to die.

She watched him throw a potion—and watched Azarias throw it off course with a wave of his hand before throwing Ben across the room. He landed hard against the wall, wincing as he forced himself to his feet. He turned, and she swore he was looking right at her.

“Sorry, Mom.”

Phoebe dropped the pen and looked up at her sisters. “We have to hurry, Ben went to face him on his own.”

Piper frowned. “What is it with the boys in this family?” She took Paige’s hand and held her free hand out to Phoebe. “Come on, let’s save my nephew so we can ground his ass until he’s fifty.”

Phoebe made a face. “Sounds like a plan.”

And they orbed out.

***

“I want to go home,” Penelope said. “Henry keeps poking me.”

PJ rolled her eyes at her sister.

“I’m sure this will all be over soon,” Victor said. “And then I can meet my newest grandson.”

“You haven’t met Ben yet?” Chris asked.

“I think the girls were planning some family dinner thing. They didn’t want to overwhelm him—more than he already has been.”

“That’s fair.” Chris glanced over at his brother, who was currently absorbed in a game of Monopoly with the twins and Parker. Which was a ridiculous group to play against because Kat and Tamora were just going to team up on them anyway.

“Girls, are you fleecing your cousins?” Henry asked, eyeing the game.

“No.” Came the unanimous response.

He smiled.

“You think everything is going okay?” Victor asked, glancing at Henry.

“I have faith.” Henry sighed. “I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.” As if on cue, his phone rang. He frowned at the caller ID. “It’s Coop.” He answered. “Hey, what’s up?”

Henry’s eyebrows rose as he listened to the other side of the conversation. “No, Ben isn’t here.”

Chris straightened.

“No—no—okay. Yeah. Talk to you soon.” Henry hung up and looked at Victor. “It seems your new grandson has disappeared. Again.”

“What?” Victor blinked.

“Coop says the girls are on it. I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s a smart kid. Tough.”

Chris exchanged looks with Wyatt and Melinda. If Ben was missing, it was pretty obvious to them where he was and what he was doing. Not that there was any way Victor or Henry was going to let them get in on this. All they could do for now, was worry.

***

Ben arrived at Adler’s New York address feeling less confident than he had on the outset of his plan. Still, it was better than getting his family killed trying to take the demon out.

Invisibly, he stalked through the manor, ear cocked for any sound of Adler or his demon minions. He wandered upstairs, moving room to room until he made it Adler’s office. It was empty as well—but there was still the vault. Ben paused in front of the wall the vault was hidden behind and pulled one of the potions from his pocket. He took a deep breath and shimmered into the hidden room.

Adler was waiting.

***

It quickly became apparent that the Halliwell sisters were going to need assistance to find Adler’s house in New York. It was a big city. Paige called Elizabeth. They arrived at the Burke’s house a few minutes later and Peter arrived a few minutes after that.

“Okay, so what information do you have?” Peter asked, leaning against his kitchen table and eyeing the four brunettes in his kitchen.

“The demon goes by Vincent Adler up here. We tried doing a search but we didn’t find anything online.” Phoebe sighed. “We have to hurry.”

“Hold on.” Peter grabbed his laptop and started up a search for Vincent Adler in the federal databases. “The name sounds familiar.”

“We’re looking for a really nice house,” Phoebe said. “Three stories, big windows. Cream colored walls with white trim.”

“All right.” Peter glanced at her. “Ben’s going to be okay. He’s a smart kid.”

“And highly impulsive, reckless and he might have a death wish.” Phoebe grimaced. “Unfortunately, his father was similar.”

“Did his father also taunt FBI agents by sending pizza to their surveillance vans?”

“No, he was District Attorney though.” She smiled. “Ben sent you pizzas?”

“He did. It was good pizza actually.” Peter smiled. “He’s even sent me a birthday card.”

“Oh, that was nice of him,” Piper said.

Peter looked back at his computer. “We have something. Vincent Adler—looks like his cover is as an investment banker. Looks like he’s careful about his clients…he has two properties in Manhattan.” He brought up the addresses with a few keystrokes and turned the computer around. “I think we have your house.”

Phoebe took one look at the photo and nodded. “That’s it, that’s the house.”

“All right.” Peter took a breath. “I understand I have to sit this out for a lot of reasons but when it’s all over, I’d like to know Ben’s safe.”

Phoebe nodded. “I’ll call.”

“Thanks. Good luck.”

Phoebe was really hoping they didn’t need that sentiment.

***

The New York manor was no less ostentatious than Adler’s Underworld lair, it just had a different color scheme.

“We’re looking for a vault,” Phoebe said. “And—I can feel Ben. This way.” She led them up the stairs, unerringly heading toward Adler’s office.

“Okay, so where’s the vault then?” Paige asked, looking around the room. “There’s only one way in or out of here.”

Phoebe frowned, closing her eyes for a moment. “That way.” She pointed at the wall 0behind the desk. “I think it’s concealed by magic. We have to hurry.”

Paige nodded, grabbed her sisters’ hands, and orbed.

***

They arrived in the vault in time to see Ben go flying toward the wall. Paige reacted immediately, orbing her nephew back into the office they’d left and hoping he would stay put. Adler smiled. “Well, well, coming to Neal’s rescue? How sweet.”

“Oh I am so vanquishing your slimy ass,” Phoebe said. “You will never touch my son again.”

Adler smiled. “Well, well…so now you want him?”

“I always wanted him.” Phoebe frowned. “Fate had other ideas. But I will not lose him again.”

Piper blasted Adler and Paige threw a potion. Adler deflected it and threw an energy ball. Paige threw it back at him. He flinched.

“Is that all you have?” he snarled.

Ben shimmered back in a moment later as Adler threw out his arm and Paige was thrown toward the wall, orbing out before impact. Ben shook his head, tossing an energy ball in Adler’s direction. “Aunt Paige, are you okay?”

She nodded. “You should get out of here Ben.”

He shook his head. “That is not happening.”

“You should listen to your elders, Neal.” He threw an energy ball, catching Ben on the shoulder.

Ben grunted and his flashed. “My name is Ben!” He threw his last vial just as Piper and Phoebe threw two of their own. Alder’s telekinesis caught them like a wave, throwing them back. Ben didn’t blink as some instinct he didn’t fully understand took over. He flung his hand out and the vials changed course, smashing with bright bursts of fire into Adler’s torso.

“The spell!” Paige shouted.

The sisters recited the spell that coupled with the potion’s effect while Adler writhed in flames. At its crescendo, he screamed as the flames consumed him, rushing up toward the ceiling and then slamming into the marble floor like a cascade before vanishing—and the demon with them. The only remains a scorch mark and a small patch of ash to show where he had been.

Ben was shaking when Phoebe got to him, wrapping her arms around him and tugging him close. “I’ve got you,” she said. “He’s gone. It’s over.”

“He needs healing,” Piper said softly.

Ben shook his head. “It’s fine.”

“Nope,” Paige said. “You’re getting healed, just hold still.”

While Paige took care of that, Piper took a look around the room, pausing as she spotting the portrait of Lady Elizabeth. “Well that’s not creepy at all.”

Ben followed her gaze. “It’s magic of some kind. We shouldn’t leave it here.”

“Probably not.” She continued to look around. “Is that the Raphael that Agent Burke was after you about?”

“Maybe,” Ben hedged, pulling free of his mother and testing his newly healed shoulder. After three pairs of stern eyes settled on him he ducked his head. “Yes. I’ll return it.”

“Good.” Phoebe took hold of his hand. “We’ll do that now before we head home. Peter wanted to know you were okay, anyway.”

Ben nodded. “Okay.” He looked around the room a moment. “We should—um—take him that music box too.” He jutted his chin at the object in question. “You know. Because.”

Phoebe sighed. “Okay. I’ll just add that to my mental list of your crimes.”

“You have a list?” He raised his eyebrows.

“I’m mostly joking. Paige, grab the box, Piper get the painting. I want to get out of here.”

In that moment, with his mom’s small hand holding his hand tight, Ben couldn’t help feeling like everything was going to be all right. Actually all right. Finally. Even if he was grounded until he was fifty. Even if he ended up returning all the money from his Swiss bank account. Doing community service under Henry’s watchful eye. Whatever. Yeah, it was going to be hard to reign in his old habits. Yeah, he was always going to have the urge to slip wallets from pockets and watches from wrists when someone irritated him but…he wasn’t alone anymore.

He was going home. He was safe.

And he was loved.

***

“Hey Agent Burke!” Ben grinned. “I brought you some presents.”

Peter was only mildly irritated at the sudden appearance of four people in his living room, having partially anticipated it. His irritation was overridden the moment his eyes lit on the objects they brought with them.

“That’s the Raphael,” Peter said, wiping his hand over his face in disbelief. “And—is that the amber music box from Saint Petersburg?”

“Maybe.” Ben blinked.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

“Hey, I’m giving it back. To you.” Ben shrugged. “Just tell the feds they were dropped off on your doorstep. Like babies.”

“I’m just going to ignore that.” Peter’s eyes narrowed. “I’m glad you’re okay, Ben.”

“Thanks.” Ben smiled. “I—thanks for letting me…thanks.”

“Your welcome.” Peter sighed. “You should go so I can call in this—philanthropic donation that ended up on my doorstep. Okay?”

“Maybe I should write a note?” Ben suggested.

Peter frowned, shaking his head. “No. You go home. Stay out of trouble.”

Ben grinned. “Sure thing, Agent Burke.”

Peter had a feeling that this was not going to be the last time he laid eyes on Ben Halliwell—and he was rarely wrong.

***

Upon their arrival at the Halliwell manor, Paige called Henry to give him the all clear while Phoebe marched her wayward son up to the attic for a chat. Coop, sensing his wife’s conflicted emotions, followed.

“What were you thinking, Benjamin?” she started, arms folded and back straight. Not that she was ever going to be very imposing at her height but dammit she was going to try.

“I…” he swallowed, finding himself at a loss for words now that it was all said and done. During everything had seemed clear. Seemed to make sense. He was protecting them. He’d had to protect them. Right?

“You could have been killed. You were injured and then, then you didn’t even want Paige to heal you. What’s that about?” She raised her eyebrows.

He chewed on his lip and tried to come up with something to say but—his throat was dry and hot, and his stomach felt like it was made of lead. He could feel her fear, disappointment and anger buzzing around him. It wouldn’t have been half as bad if he couldn’t feel the strong undercurrent of love beneath it all.

That just made him feel worse.

Deep down, he knew part of the reason he’d gone after Adler himself was pure anger. Part of it was his inability to really trust people. Then there were his impulse control issues and his tiny bit of adrenaline addiction. The rest though? The rest was fear. He’d wanted to protect his family from Adler. He’d wanted to protect from the last part of his life that they didn’t know about. Protect them from the things he’d done. The things he’d seen.

He bit the inside of his cheek and set his gaze firmly on the floor. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. He could apologize, again. For what had to be the hundredth time since his mom brought him home. Would she even still want to try with him? He didn’t have enough experience to know one way or another.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore. I’ve just—I’ve been trying. I’ve been just following along with everything because it seemed like what you wanted me to do and then I kind of liked going to school and like the girls and Chris is cool and…” He swallowed. “I don’t know what will happen next week. I can’t promise I’ll never screw up again. I can’t promise I’ll never steal again.

“You deserve a better son. You deserve someone who isn’t—”

The heavy thud of two sets of arms folding around him cut off his last word as his head was buried in Coop’s chest and his mom squeezed in just a bit between them, clinging tight.

“I don’t want a perfect son,” Phoebe whispered gently. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Ben. I will never give up on. Never. I know it’s going to take time for you to trust that all of this isn’t going away. I know that you have instincts you can’t just shake. I know. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to get upset when you do something stupid or reckless. When you get hurt. I am. Because I’m your mom and I love you.”

Ben sniffed.

“There is nothing you could do that would stop me from loving you,” she promised.

Ben didn’t want to cry. He was tired of crying. Tired of stupid emotions making him look like a child. He was just—tired.

Coop was rubbing his back and Ben found it somewhat comforting that the man was so much bigger than he was. After a while, he managed to calm down, settling into a sort of peace in his parents’ embrace. He felt safe again. Almost content.

A rush of noise from downstairs heralded the arrival of the rest of the Halliwell clan. Phoebe pulled back, wiping a few stray tears from her face and smiling at Ben, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Come on, everyone wants to make sure you’re okay.”

“What…I mean,” he bit his lip, “am I in trouble?”

“Oh yeah, big time, buster.” Her tone was light though. “You are so grounded—more grounded.”

He managed a smile.

“Come on. Your grandpa wants to meet you I think.”

“I have a grandpa?”

“Yup,” Coop said, keep an arm around Ben’s shoulders. “And then you can apologize to everyone for worrying them.”

Ben flushed. “Do I have to?”

“Yes.” Phoebe and Coop nodded.

“Okay.”

Phoebe smiled, and led her boys back downstairs.

Chapter Text

It was a surprise to perhaps no one that Ben’s relationship with his grandpa was heavily based on Ben’s admiration for his skill at poker. Since they generally only played for candy, Phoebe let it go. There was always going to be a little bit of Neal in Ben. Nothing they could do about that. She didn’t even think she wanted to.

After a couple months Ben managed to settle back into the routine of school and home life—and charm his mother into un-grounding him. This became rather important when Chris convinced his cousin to go on a double-date to ease the parental figures minds about Chris going out on his own. Ben hadn’t actually met the girl Will was bringing along as Ben’s plus one, but Chris assured him that she was at the very least, interesting. Ben wasn’t really sure what to think about that assessment, but he was willing to go along given how much work he’d put into getting Chris to go on this date in the first place.

Chris had just celebrated his sixteenth birthday and was enjoying being the same age as his brother and cousin for the next few months. Ben helped Chris for the date with an eye for getting his cousin at least to second base tonight.

They were in Ben’s room getting ready when Phoebe knocked on the door. “Hey boys.”

“Hey, Mom.” Ben smiled. “What’s up?”

“You two all ready for your dates tonight?” She smiled, giving Chris a look over. “I see you lent Chris one of your shirts.”

Ben shrugged.

“My only dress shirt was, to quote Ben, boring.” Chris flashed a smile.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “Uh huh. Don’t forget, home by ten. Which I know you can both make given that you don’t have to drive.”

“Yes Mom.”

“And be respectful,” Coop chimed in from behind his wife. “Of your dates.”

Ben gave him a look. “I am a gentleman.” He grabbed Chris’s arm. “See you later.” And they were gone.

Coop laughed. “I’m not sure which of them was more nervous about this date.”

“Me,” Phoebe said. “I’m hoping whoever this girl is, she good. He needs good after…” After Kate, went unspoken but understood.

Coop nodded, putting his hands on her hips and leaning down to kiss her cheek. “I’m sure she’s good. Come on, we have a whole forty-five minutes before the girls get back from Paige’s house.”

“Ooh, forty-five minutes?” Phoebe smiled, turning her head. “It’s a miracle.”

“It really is.” He kissed her again.

***

They met Will at his house. A major benefit of near-instantaneous travel magic was being able to get to Seattle for a date.

Chris knocked on the front door and wiped his hands on his pants.

“Don’t worry,” Ben said. “You look good.”

Chris shrugged. “I can’t help being a bit nervous.”

Ben smiled.

He heard heavy footsteps coming toward the door and a shout of a muffled “I’ve got it!”

Will opened the door a moment later, smiling brightly. “Chris! Ben! Come on in. Sara will be here in a couple minutes and then we can go get dinner before the movie.”

“Great.” Chris flashed a smile and shyly kissed Will on the cheek. They made a good pair. Will was just a hair taller, skin several shades darker. His ocean blue eyes and spiky black hair were a subtle contrast to Chris’s green eyes and overgrown brunet mop. Ben had managed to get it into a somewhat fashionable style for the evening.

Will blushed. “I hope you guys like Italian.”

“I love Italian,” Ben said with a smile. “So—what’s Sara like?”

“You’ll see when she gets here,” Will replied. “Soon, I hope. I’d rather not have to sit through my dad giving someone his version of the shotgun talk—again.”

Ben snorted. “I am so glad I have never had one of those.”

Will nodded. “You should be.”

They chatted for a few more minutes until there was another knock on the door. Will headed over to answer, blocking Ben’s view of whoever was on the other side. And then Will stepped back and let a girl walk into the entry room. Ben swallowed. Sara had a familiar smile on her face—definitely a kindred spirit. Her hair was a strategic mess of strawberry blonde curls that brushed her shoulders and her eyes a golden gray hazel. Bright. Beautiful. She made him think of a cat that had just gotten into cream. She glanced away from Will and met Ben’s eyes.

“You must be Ben.” Her smile widened. “I’m Sara.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ben walked forward. “I’m sort of disappointed we don’t have any classes together—could have met you sooner.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “I hear you’re a little behind. Besides, I’m a conjurer. Our powers aren’t quite the same.”

“Conjuring? That’s really cool.” Ben smiled. “Probably come in handy in three card monte.”

She laughed. “Maybe.”

“Okay, let’s get to dinner,” Will clapped. “I’m starved.”

Ben offered Sara his elbow, she took it with another laugh. Ben felt a surge of warmth. She was so—genuine. There was nothing dark in the profile of her emotions. It was all bright and joy. A little bit of a thrill seeker, he thought.

The four of them piled into Will’s car and he drove them into the city.

***

The movie was decent, though how much of Chris and Will actually saw was a matter of debate. Ben wouldn’t put money on their recall. After they got back to Will’s house, Chris escorted Will back to the front door while Ben stood on the sidewalk with Sara, waiting for her dad to come pick her up.

The streetlights were on, casting a halo around her curls. She tucked a stray strand behind one ear and smiled.

“This was nice.”

“Yeah.” Ben bit down on his lip. “I—would you like to get coffee or something? Without the other two?”

She grinned. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

“Cool.” He wiped his hands on his pants nervously. “I—goodnight kiss?”

“Okay.” Her dimples, Ben decided, were too adorable for words to accurately describe. She tapped her cheek. “Right here.”

“Deal.” He leaned over, pressing his lips to her cheek. He felt his heart race, like he was getting away with something. Like he was stealing something.

A fraction later, the vision caught him off guard.

They were walking the halls of Magic School together. From the difference in his height compared to hers, he gathered some time had passed. Sara was laughing about something. Her hand was in his. The lights from the windows were bright. She looked like an angel.

He felt—happy. Really happy.

Ben took a breath and found himself back on the sidewalk, pulling back from kissing Sara’s cheek. He smiled, heart racing a bit as he looked her in the eyes.

“You okay? You kind of tensed up a bit there,” she said.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Just—excited to get coffee. Without having to listen to my cousin make-out.”

Sara laughed. A car pulled up next to them. “There’s my dad. See you later, Ben.” She grinned impishly, and on impulse, gave him a quick kiss on the lips before climbing into her dad’s car.

Ben swallowed, brushing his fingers over his lips and the warm tingle she’d left.

“You like her?” Chris asked.

Ben turned to his cousin and smiled. “You were right, she is interesting.”

Chris laughed. “Come on, we should get home.”

Ben nodded and they headed to an out of the way spot to transport themselves home.

***

Ben turned seventeen surrounded by his friends and family. They had the party at the manor, as it was really the only house big enough for everyone. The celebration was a hive of activity, kids running around the house, teenagers pretending they were too old to be running around the house, and the adults in the kitchen wondering how time went by so fast.

“I see Ben invited Sara,” Paige said, glancing at Phoebe. “So that’s a thing.”

Phoebe smiled slyly. “Maybe.”

Piper gave her sister a look. “What do you know?”

“I know nothing.” Phoebe chewed her lip and looked to her husband for support. “Right honey?”

“Absolutely,” he agreed, reaching out a hand to tug her closer. “Besides, we aren’t the ones with news are we?” Coop gave Paige a pointed look.

She blinked and wrinkled her nose. “I hate that you can do that.”

“What’s this then?” Piper asked.

“Oh…” Paige huffed. “I wanted to wait but if you must know…Henry and I are having another baby.”

Phoebe grinned, clapping her hands together in what was, for her, a rather self-contained example of glee. “Does that mean you have to upgrade?”

“Could be,” Paige said. “Henry is determined not to have a baby sleeping in our room and the twins are getting to that age where they want their own rooms so…I guess it’s about the right time for something like that.”

“Did you know,” Mozzie said walking into the room, “that Ben has totally snuck off upstairs with Sara?”

“I’m not overly surprised,” Phoebe replied. “I’m not worried. She’s a smart cookie.”

Mozzie snorted. “Right.”

Upstairs, Ben wasn’t actually making out with his girlfriend. He’d stolen a pair of handcuffs from Henry a few weeks ago and was teaching Sara the fine art of picking and slipping cuffs. She was actually pretty good.

As she took them off this time around, Ben clicked the stop watch and grinned. “You shaved five seconds off your last time!”

She pumped her fist in delight. “I’m going to be faster than you soon.” She leaned in and kissed him.

Ben grinned.

“Do you think we should go back to the party now?” she asked. “I mean—it is your party.”

“Which is why I can get away with not being downstairs with my many, many cousins.”

She rolled her eyes. “You love your family.”

“Yeah, but it can be a little overwhelming sometimes.”

“I get that.” She kissed him again. “Come on, I want cake.” She put her hand in his, tugging him up from the bed. As they walked out of his room, he fell into a vision.

The first thing he was sure of was that he felt happy. Pure, unadulterated happy. The kind of feeling that fills up your chest and spills out in your smile. He saw Sara, some years older but with the same smile and the same eyes. She was sitting in his mom’s kitchen, going through a book on the table with Phoebe and the girls, also grown.

He saw himself next, walking into the kitchen from the backyard, fingers stained with paint and a smile fixed on his face. “Hey, how’s the location hunt going?”

Sara wrinkled her nose, tilting her head up for a kiss when he got close enough. “I’m still sold on the museum myself.”

His older-self nodded. “I like it too.”

Ben noticed then the ring on Sara’s hand, noticed the love between them.

As his older-self moved to walk out of the kitchen, Sara stopped him with a hand on his hip. “Don’t forget, cake tasting tomorrow at Piper’s.”

“I know, I know.” He grinned. “I’ll be there.”

“And when are you going to tell me what you’re working on in the studio anyway?”

He smiled. “It’s a secret.”

Sara rolled her eyes. “Uh huh.”

He let her tug him back towards her and leaned down for a kiss. “Trust me, you’re going to love it.”

“Promises, promises.”

“Only promises I can keep.” He pulled back. “I’ve got to wash up before I got see Chris.”

“Okay.” She gave him a long look. “And remember, don’t tell him anything.”

He rolled his eyes. “You are talking to the master of keeping secrets. I’ll see you later, love you.”

“I love you too.”

Ben blinked, back in the hall, Sara’s hand in his. He smiled. The future, it seemed, was only getting brighter.