Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
A Charmed Love Story
by Laura Picken

Hi all! This is my first attempt at Charmed fan fiction. I really like Prue and Andy, but I don't like the way TPTB are handling their relationship. Trust should be the first facet of any relationship, and Andy's absolutely right to be upset that Prue won't trust him. So, being a habitual fan fiction writer, this is my response to that.

DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I don't own these characters, or you'd be seeing this next Wednesday night. These lovely men and women are owned by Aaron Spelling, E. Duke Vincent and Warner Brothers. They own the rights, I own less than nothing, and the characters can go back to your world when they're done, I promise! Please don't sue -- you wouldn't get anything anyway.

SPOILERS: I guess you could consider this an alternate to The Truth is Out There...And it Hurts. The first draft of the story was posted to the Charmedfic mailing list the week before that episode aired. So, consequently, none of the more recent eps should be taken into consideration when reading this story.

And now, on with the show...

*****

It was a beautiful night for a walk--the fog was just low enough to make even the dingiest of city streets into a place of mystery, yet you could still look up and see some of the stars in the sky. Martin couldn't believe the incredible beauty he found himself lucky enough to be walking with. Even her name rolled off the tongue like sweet wine. Squeezing the arm he had draped around her petite shoulders, he repeated the name to himself once more. Samantha...

Leaning in just slightly, he found himself unable to resist inhaling the perfumed aroma of her blond hair. He was an old-fashioned kind of guy, he thought, and a voice in the back of his mind tried to convince him that this was -way- to far for him to be going on a first date. His body's response to her nearness, though, shut those thoughts down quickly. My God, he thought, just being next to her is intoxicating...

Just as he was about to pull away, though, she turned her head to look up at him. Blue eyes locked on brown, and the attraction was unstoppable. At first, he kissed her tentatively, not sure if she was feeling as strongly as he was about what was going on between them. All hesitation was thrown to the wind, though, as she deepened the kiss quickly, returning his feelings with more enthusiasm than he thought a woman of her small size could possibly be able to produce.

Martin was so caught up in the passion he was feeling that he didn't notice Samantha forcing them into a nearby alley with strength a woman twice her size didn't have. He didn't notice how the fog had grown thicker, seemingly enveloping them in its own private curtain. He didn't notice how her kiss seemed to be draining the very life from his body...

When the fog lifted, Samantha pulled her hair back into a relaxed ponytail, sighing in annoyance that Martin had done so much to mess up her usually pristine appearance. Quickly touching up her makeup and reassuring herself that she did indeed look fabulous, she picked up her pace just slightly, walking with the confidence of a woman who knew she could take on the world even as she left the body of one Martin Jeffries behind to rot in that dark alley...

****

It looked like the parting of the Red Sea.

In reality, it was simply one of those things that was becoming a fact of life in the San Francisco PD. When Inspector Andy Trudeau was in a bad mood, your best course of action would be to get out of the way before he shoved you out of the way. And Andy looked like he was ready to do some shoving tonight.

Morris whistled as he took in his partner's appearance. He was the only one who could get away with talking to his partner when the man was in this bad a state, and he knew it. "Whew, Andy! Should I alert the National Weather Service, or is this storm going to blow over quickly?"

Andy groaned. Even he could tell the joke was lame. "Morris, can it, all right? Tonight's not a good night for this."

[Boy, he's -really- in a bad mood! This could only mean one thing.] Sympathetically, Morris asked, "It's Prue again, isn't it?"

Drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Andy nodded. "She stood me up."

"-More- sister stuff?!?!?"

At Andy's nod of confirmation, Morris drew an hand back through his hair. By this point, he was almost as frustrated as his partner about this. "What -is- it with those three, anyway?"

Andy simply shook his head. "I wish I knew, Morris. I really wish I knew." Bitterly, he added, "It's not like Prue's ever going to tell me..."

Morris caught on immediately. "That's what's bugging you, isn't it? You think that Prue doesn't trust you." Andy nodded.

Morris couldn't help it. He started laughing. "Man, that's gotta be a first. A man feeling betrayed because a -woman's- keeping secrets from -him-!"

Andy thought for a moment, then couldn't help but let out a small chuckle himself. Stepping back from the situation, it was pretty absurd. Too bad he couldn't step back from the situation every time Prue had 'sister stuff' going on...

The Inspector shook the thoughts out of his head, realizing that if he dwelt on what was going on between himself and Prue, they would be there all night. And both he and Morris had better things to do. "So what do we have here?"

Flipping open his notebook, Morris used his notes to brief Andy on their crime scene. "According to his wallet, the name of the deceased is Martin Jeffries, Single, age 35."

"Cause of death?"

"Asphyxiation."

"-Again-?" As Morris nodded, Andy's eyes widened slightly. He shouldn't be surprised, not after the cases he'd investigated this year. Then again..."Isn't that the third case this month?"

Morris nodded. "Looks like we've got a serial killer on our hands, my friend."

*****

Piper looked at her watch for what had to be the thirtieth time that day. 1:30. Andy was going to be there any minute.

She had reserved them a quiet table, far away from the kitchen where they could relax, and talk. Piper felt absolutely horrible about the way things were going between Andy and her sister. It was clear to her that Prue loved Andy as much as he loved her, and in some ways, she felt partially to blame for the way things were going between them. After all, if it wasn't for the fact that they were witches....

Shrugging off all thoughts of unmentionable subjects, Piper resolved that she would just sit and listen and try to help Andy in any way that she could without telling Andy about their powers...The young chef nearly jumped when she finally spotted Andy near the entrance to the restaurant. Crossing the busy floor, she intercepted him before he made it very far. "Hi, Andy! How's it going?"

Andy still didn't know what to make of Piper's invitation to lunch. While never one to pass up a free meal -- especially at Quake -- he had a feeling this had something to do with the fight he and Prue had gotten into the night before. A fight that Andy was not ready to discuss yet...particularly with his supposed girlfriend's sister. Shoving his hands in his pockets to keep himself from fidgeting, Andy replied, "All right, I guess. What's this about, Piper?"

Piper deliberately avoided the question as she suggested, "We'll have plenty of time to talk when we get to the table. Why don't you get us a couple of drinks from the bar and I'll go see if our table's ready? I'll take a white wine."

And before Andy had any possible chance to prod Piper further, she was gone--halfway across the restaurant before he even blinked. [How in the world does she -do- that?] Setting aside -that- impossible question for the moment, Andy made his way to the crowded bar to try and get the bartender's attention.

It was then that he saw her, out of the corner of his eye. Normally, blondes weren't his type, but there was something about this one...Andy had crossed the entire length of the bar and was at her side before he could even think about what he was doing.

Finding himself at a loss for words, he soon found out he didn't need them as the woman spoke first -- but only after looking him up and down appreciatively. Strangely, he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he was intensely flattered as she greeted him, "Hello, handsome."

Smiling, he answered her, "Hello, yourself." Trying to muster up courage he wasn't feeling, Andy spoke before he thought. "So what's an amazing woman like you doing in a place like this?"

The woman groaned, a sound which was as seductive as it was defeating, as she turned away from Andy to take a sip of her drink. "You know, that's got to be the oldest pick up line known to man."

"Absolutely," Andy agreed, "But it was all I could think of to say at the moment."

The woman laughed appreciatively. "Well at least you're honest." Setting aside her drink, she sat up slightly as she offered her hand. "The name's Samantha."

Andy shook her hand in return. "Inspector Andy Trudeau."

Samantha raised an eyebrow in surprise. "-Inspector-? Really?"

"Yes ma'am. Just recently promoted."

Samantha smiled. "Well then why don't we go out for a drink sometime, to celebrate this...recent promotion. Say, tomorrow night?"

Andy was almost taken aback. It had been a while since he was with a woman this assertive. Then again, it had been a while since he was interested in anyone other than Prue...shaking all thoughts of her aside for the moment, he agreed, "Pick you up at 6?"

"Sounds great," agreed Samantha.

Their conversation was interrupted by someone calling out, "Andy!" from the other end of the bar. Taking his eyes off Samantha, Andy turned to the sound of his name being called, and immediately recognized Phoebe as the one doing the calling. Muttering something about the Halliwell sisters and their impeccable timing, Andy turned back to excuse himself from Samantha's presence...

Only to find her gone. Letting out a soft string of curses to try and express some of the frustration he was feeling, he commented to no one in particular, "I don't even have your--"

Before he could say 'number', the edge of the cocktail napkin caught his eye. There, just above the Quake logo, was a note for him:

555-6660
Don't be late! --S

Smiling, he picked up the napkin and folded it into his inside coat pocket just as Phoebe caught up with him. Before he could say a word, though, Phoebe spoke up first. "Andy! What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?"

"Actually, your sister Piper invited me for lunch--"

"What a coincidence," interrupted Phoebe, "I'm here to drop off some papers for her to sign. Why don't I walk you to the table?" Not letting Andy argue with her, she offered, "Is this your drink?" She picked up the glass to hand it to Andy...

*FLASH*

The world faded to black and white. She saw Andy lying in a hotel room bed, a thin sheet barely covering the lower half of his body. She could hear a woman's laughter in the background, but that wasn't important to Phoebe. What -was- important was that in Phoebe's mind's eye, Andy was no longer alive...

"Phoebe? Are you all right?"

The young witch shook off her disorientation when she felt Andy's hand on his shoulder. Looking up into the eyes of the man she just saw as a corpse was, to say the least, uncomfortable. Shoving the envelope into his hands, Phoebe rattled off a quick excuse. "I'm fine. Listen, I gotta run. Can you give these to Piper for me? Thanks. I'll see you later!"

And she was gone before Andy even had a chance to respond. He was beginning to wonder if that disappearing act was a genetic trait when he saw Piper trying to flag him down from their table. Adding that train of thought to his mental list of questions marked "Later", Andy got the drinks from the bartender and made his way over to Piper's table.