Give Me a Sign/Plot

Two deputy sheriffs come to Bane Jessup's cell and tell him that his evidentiary hearing has been moved up. Bane is suspicious; he's never seen these two deputies before. They cuff him and take him to a van. Bane says, "Litvack sent you, didn't he?" and elbows one of the "deputies" to the ground. The other "deputy" pulls a strange device out of his pocket and fires it at Bane, but Bane dives away and the beam hits the fallen "deputy" instead, sending him up in flames. Bane kicks the surviving "deputy" down, knocking the device under a van. Bane and the "deputy" struggle, with Bane getting the better of it. While still cuffed, Bane gets into a sheriff's van and drives out of the jail.

Piper and Phoebe come back from running. Piper still can't decide between Leo or Dan. Phoebe offers to cast a spell to help Piper decide, but Piper is worried it might be personal gain. Prue has decided to become a photographer; she's checking out a large shipment of expensive photography equipment she ordered. While Prue has been nervous about taking this step, Piper remembers that Prue always wanted to become a photographer. Phoebe points out that Prue's past life had been a very good photographer as well ("Pardon My Past"). Phoebe goes off to write a spell for Piper; Piper tries to chase her down. Prue takes her own picture in a mirror and titles it "Portrait of a Dreamer".

Phoebe slips into the bathroom to write her spell.

Prue is still checking out her camera when Bane appears behind her. She drops her camera in shock. Before Prue can react, Bane slips a cloth over her nose and mouth, and she passes out.

Phoebe tries to get a premonition off Prue's camera, with no luck. Darryl comes to the manor and tells Phoebe and Piper that Bane has escaped. The two sisters tell him that Prue is missing. They hand him a cloth they found near the door. Darryl sniffs it; it's been soaked in chloroform. He suspects Bane may be out for revenge since the sisters were responsible for packing Bane off to jail ("Ms. Hellfire"). Piper doesn't understand why Bane only took Prue, but Phoebe thinks Bane is working with another demon to trap them. Darryl also hands them the weapon dropped by the "deputy." Piper and Phoebe are certain the weapon is demonic. Darryl agrees to keep this hushed up, since Piper and Phoebe have a better chance of finding Bane than the police.

As Darryl leaves, a deliveryman appears with a small package from Leonardo's Boutique in Bodega Bay. Piper remembers that Leo is short for Leonardo, and Bodega Bay is Dan's hometown. Piper accuses Phoebe of casting the spell after all, and Phoebe admits she did it--but before Prue was kidnapped. Phoebe takes the weapon and has a vision of Prue being bound, blindfolded and gagged by Bane.

Bane walks into a room in an unfinished house, where he has Prue tied up. He isn't willing to undo the blindfold yet; he knows Prue can channel her telekinesis through her eyes. Prue persuades him to take off the blindfold. Bane wants the sisters' help against a demon called Litvack, since he knows too much about demons. He also admits that this home was his dream house before the sisters had him arrested. Prue replies by flinging Bane into a wall; she refuses to put her sisters in danger. Bane blindfolds her again.

The "deputy" goes to his boss, Litvack's assistant, in a mausoleum. He admits that Bane is still alive. Litvack comes and orders the "deputy" to his knees. Litvack places his hand on the fake deputy sheriff's head and sees Bane's escape and the other "deputy's" death. Litvack then raises his hand and sends the "deputy" up in flames. He orders the assistant to find Bane and the lost weapon.

Leo recognizes the weapon; it is issued by a specific Upper-Level demon, and can only be activated by a demon. He tells Piper and Phoebe that demons work their way up the chain by promoting evil. He doesn't know which one, though. While Phoebe goes to the Book of Shadows, Piper and Leo talk for a bit. Leo admits being frustrated he can't do more to help.

Bane tells Prue that with her sisters' help, she can defeat Litvack, but she doesn't have a chance alone.

The Book offers several possible demons that might have issued the weapon. It then flips to the page on "Mariners", sea fairies. Piper connects this to Dan, a former Seattle Mariner. Prue appears as an astral projection, much to Piper and Phoebe's relief. Prue tells them that Bane kidnapped her, but warns them not to come for her because she suspects a trap. Before Piper and Phoebe can get more details, Prue goes back to her body.

Bane tries to gain Prue's trust by unbinding her. He tells her there's a market a mile nearby and she is free to go; he doesn't want to put her in further danger if she isn't willing to trust him. Litvack's assistant fades in and fires the weapon at Prue and Bane, but Bane pulls Prue behind a pile of broken furniture. The assistant fires again, but Prue deflects the blast into a wall, then flings the assistant through a window. Prue notices Bane is wounded; he fell onto a knife left on the floor.

Bane's escape is all over the news, much to Darryl's frustration. Piper and Phoebe saw the first news report and called Darryl to the manor. Piper and Phoebe tell Darryl that Bane definitely kidnapped Prue, and that Prue told them she thought it was a trap. Darryl brings Bane's D.A. file, or what he could copy. The sisters get a wrong number phone call from a "Leonora Watkins".

Prue tries to clean Bane's wound. Bane wants her to go after Litvack, but Prue wants to make sure he's okay first. She also thinks that escaping is exactly what Litvack wants them to do. Bane must take his pants off for her to get to the rest of the wound, and he is reluctant. She says he can do it by himself, or she can do it by force.

Piper and Phoebe go through the D.A. file. One of the many counts against Bane is for using a real estate development to launder money. Piper finds a brochure for the development and hands it to Phoebe, who quickly notices the name--Mariner's Bluff. Piper realizes that she has been reading the signs wrong and that they are leading her to Prue. It turns out Mariner's Bluff is in Bodega Bay. Piper and Phoebe try to string together the clues, and realize "Leonora Watkins" refers to Watkins Road Exit. While trying to find the lot number, Phoebe accidentally turns on the TV and hears a sportscaster announcing that the Mariners lost to the Angels, 8 to 7. Piper realizes this means "lot 827" and she and Phoebe drive out.

Prue is now more willing to trust Bane. Bane says it's the first time anyone's believed in him in a long time. He wasn't always a criminal and had dreams of an honest life once, but thinks it's too late for him. Prue thinks that dreams are just dreams, but Bane doesn't believe that. They kiss, briefly hurting Bane's wound.

Litvack lays his hand on the assistant's head and sees that he was up against a Charmed One. Litvack wants to go to the unfinished house. The assistant thinks they'll have long since escaped by the time they get there. Litvack isn't worried; he can use their essence to track them in hopes of killing the sisters and Bane.

Prue offers to help Bane with Litvack, provided he turns himself in afterward. They kiss, and suddenly Bane freezes Piper and Phoebe have arrived. Phoebe and Piper can't quite believe what they see. Piper and Phoebe tell Prue that they know Litvack is the owner of the weapon, and are shocked when Prue tells them she trusts Bane.

At the manor, Bane looks for some peroxide for his wound. Piper and Phoebe think Prue has lost it, but Prue thinks that Litvack needs to be vanquished even if Bane is lying to them. The sisters start leafing through the Book. Litvack is in the house, and telepathically contacts Bane in a bathroom window. He knows Bane slept with Prue, and offers Bane his life in exchange for those of the sisters and the return of his weapon. Bane wants nothing to do with it, but Litvack taunts him, saying that he'll keep sending demons after him until one of them succeeds in killing him--and, in any event, Bane is evil anyway.

Phoebe found Litvack in the Book, but it offers no way to vanquish him. Bane tells the sisters that Litvack knows about Prue at least, because she had used her power when the assistant attacked. He's convinced Litvack will make the first move, but doesn't know what other powers he has. He does think, however, that he can trick Litvack into activating the weapon. Finally, Prue says she trusts Bane and asks her sisters to trust her. The sisters get the weapon; Litvack briefly appears to Bane, who tells him that they're coming.

The sisters give the weapon to Bane. He enters Litvack's mausoleum and the sisters follow. Bane presents the weapon to Litvack. The sisters hide behind a wall, and on Bane's signal, Piper freezes the room. Piper tries to take the weapon out of Litvack's hand when Litvack suddenly moves his hand away; he only pretended to freeze. Litvack raises a giant fireball, saying this will please "the Source" but Prue tells Piper to unfreeze Bane. Bane creeps up behind the assistant, takes his weapon, and blasts Litvack. Mortally wounded, Litvack shoots back, hitting the assistant. Bane explains that Litvack was telepathic and would have known what they were planning had he told them he was resistant to their powers. He decided to make Litvack think he'd double-crossed the sisters--and the only way was to make the sisters think he'd double-crossed them.

Prue and Bane say goodbye. Bane knows he needs to go back to jail and has personally called Darryl to arrest him, something Prue is proud of him for. Phoebe and Piper wonder aloud who, or what, "the Source" is. Prue arrives and reports that Bane is on his way back to jail. Phoebe admits they found Prue with the spell she cast to help Piper choose between Dan and Leo. Piper admits that she still loves Leo and didn't need a spell to help her decide.