Chapter 1 – So Now You're Back.
Cole stared at Steffi, mesmerised. She was 21 years old now, and God was she gorgeous. He could hardly believe this was the same little girl he had helped to walk around his back garden, and then had spent so many nights staring at as she slept. New York was certainly good for her, he thought.
"Mr Turner," Steffi said shakily. "I-I'm afraid that Mr Carter is out, but if you would care to wait here…"
"Steffi, you look… fantastic. How have you been?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know a Steffi. My name's Carmella Marcello, but I could get in touch with a record office if you would like to find this young woman."
"I know it's you," Cole said as he stepped into the office. "Who else could have picked themselves up like this? And I'm sure no other person has the same gorgeous hair as you." He smiled slightly as he saw her blush at the compliment. "Let me ask you something; why New York? You could've stayed in San Francisco, I wouldn't have bothered you there, I swear."
"I couldn't have stayed Cole… there was too much that reminded me of you, and that was too painful." Steffi stood up and stepped over to the floor to ceiling window of the office, staring down at the yellow cabs as they honked at each other.
"So you are Steffi, then?"
"Not to New York, I'm not. Not to my friends, my boss… New York has never heard of a Steffi Miller and I intend for it to stay that way. I went back to school, got myself a good job with great pay and a nice life. I'm not the girl who slept with men for money anymore, and I'm not your ex-girlfriend anymore either."
"You're still Steffi to me though," Cole said meaningfully. "You're still the girl I fell in love with, the girl who carried my baby, the girl who I can't live without."
"You seem to be doing alright to me," Steffi said, slightly sharply. "You've gone up in the world since I got rid of you. Maybe I should go back out with you, I could stake a claim on that bloody great fortune you're sitting on top of as the Bay's most successful lawyer!" Cole sighed heavily.
"Please don't be mad at me, baby," he said, going up to her and placing his hand on her arm. She didn't shrug it off. "I know you needed space, we both did after that argument. When I tried to find you, to apologise, you weren't at your place, and I couldn't get anything out any of your brothers, apart from two broken ribs and several nasty cuts, bruises, sprains and breakages. So I gave up looking for you, but I never gave up on you… on us." Steffi looked him in the eyes and smiled.
"I didn't think you would, even though you really should."
"I should, but I can't. You mean too much to me for that, you know that."
"You should know that I only buy the newspapers for the gossip columns," Steffi said dryly. "I know you got spotted going around with Phoebe again, and I also know that you were seen with several other celebrities, including Katie Couric. So don't tell me you never gave up on me. I know I'm no match for Phoebe, I accept that. So if that's all we have to say on the matter, then you should probably go." She made to go back to her desk, but Cole held onto her arm.
"They meant nothing, all those people. I was just doing it for the publicity, I swear."
"You swear a lot of things… you swore you loved me, you swore you were telling me the truth so many times… yet when it came to it, your promises were nothing more than lies." She tried to move again, but Cole's grip was too strong. "Cole, you're hurting me! Get off of me!" She pulled his hand off and fled to the safety of her desk, and picked up the phone. "If you don't leave right now, I'm calling security."
"You don't have to, and I know you don't want to. I have to be going anyway; I just wanted to see why you sounded so familiar." He walked out of the office, and then walked back in again, just to see her one last time. She had her face hidden in her hands, trying to pull herself together again, and he knew he couldn't leave her like that. "Steffi, I'm sorry. That was harsh of me…" She looked up at him with a small smile.
"I know you didn't mean to be, it's just the way you are. I went out with you for at least four months, I should hope I knew that much at least." She grinned at him, and he smiled back.
"Do I get a hug out of all this?" He opened his arms hopefully, and she stood up, leant over the desk and fell into his arms. Literally.
"Oh my God, if you drop me I will kill you! That's an expensive piece of equipment, that… thingagummy." Steffi giggled, and Cole opened his arms slightly, as if to drop her. She shrieked and he started laughing, moving his arms back together again so she was supported. They laughed together for a few minutes, comfortable in each other's company, when there was another knock on the door.
"Cammy? Who's this guy?" Steffi scrambled back at the sound of his voice and tried to smarten herself up.
"It's just an old friend, Phil, from San Francisco." Cole regarded Phil suspiciously.
"Who's Phil?" Steffi brushed some stray hairs out of her face with a manicured hand and sighed.
"Phil's… my fiancé." She showed Cole her left hand, and sat on her ring finger was the most beautiful ruby ring Cole had ever seen.
"Oh… I see," Cole said, trying to smile. "Well, congratulations, you've picked a winner." He extended his hand to Phil, expecting him to shake it, but was instead regarded with a cold eye.
"Who the hell are you and what were you doing to my girlfriend??" Phil demanded, and Cole took his hand away.
"My name's Cole Turner, I'm a lawyer from San Francisco… Steffi's an old friend of mine."
"Was this the guy you told me about on the phone? The one who scared you?" Phil looked at Steffi demandingly, and she looked at him defiantly.
"He's just a friend, Phil. A really good friend and I don't care if you don't like him, because he meant… he means a lot to me." Cole suppressed a smile at the remark, and Steffi moved over to Phil's side. "So play nice, you boys, because I'm going to introduce you both. Cole Turner, meet Phillip Gregory. Phil is a police officer for the state of New York, and Cole is a successful lawyer from San Francisco Bay. Now Cole came a long way to come and see me today, and I'd prefer it if you could find it in your hearts to be civil to one another."
"I'd be a lot more civil if he could explain why he had his hands all over you like that," muttered Phil. Steffi glared at him for a moment, and then softened.
"A long time ago, Cole and I were very close. We were going to have a child together, and there was a time we thought we might even get married. Unfortunately, circumstances changed and we lost the baby. I blamed Cole, and we decided it would be best if we went our separate ways. We have remained friends though, and that's why he came to see me today, because coincidentally I work for Tom and Cole is in the area to talk to him. Are you happy now? And what are you doing here anyway?"
"I know about Mr Turner's career, we've spoken on the phone before about a case. And actually, I came to see if you wanted to come to lunch with me, but then I saw my fiancée in the arms of some strange man, so you can see why I had my suspicions," Phil said, still looking at Cole distastefully.
"I would love to go to lunch with you, but I couldn't leave Cole alone in a strange city now could I?" Steffi smiled winningly at Phil, and he looked at her lovingly.
"Well, maybe we could do dinner instead… my shift doesn't start until seven…"
"Don't let me get in the way of your plans, guys," Cole said. "It's not the end of the world if I have to wait another day to see St- Carmella, but I'm leaving town on Thursday. I'll see you when I see you, then," he said, kissing Steffi on the cheek. "Nice to meet you, Phil," he said with a cordial smile, and then he headed towards the elevator.
Steffi glared at Phil. "Do you see what you've done? One of my oldest friends just had to leave because you were so rude to him that he felt he had to go!"
"I'm sorry that I took offence to a guy I'd never met in person clinging onto the love of my life!" The elevator pinged, and Steffi ran out into the hallway.
"Cole? Wait a minute…" Cole, who had just stepped inside the elevator, held the doors open.
"Going down?" he said with a smile.
"No thanks, I take the stairs," she replied, smiling back. "Listen, Phil's working tonight… come over and I'll cook you something. I think we need to talk." She conjured a slip of paper with her address on it. "Be there at eight o'clock, and I'll make sure I've got a lasagne on the go. I know it's your favourite." She gave him the paper then ran back into her office, and Cole could hear her saying,
"You know what? Let's go out now…"
A/N and Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or any of the characters.
Ooh, so Cole managed to find her then. Even I wasn't expecting that one, because I have no space to pre-write any of my chapters. So, by my unfortunate lack of writing material, I wing it. Pretty good winging though, 1,672 words. Yay. Also, longest chapter yet. Perhaps I should wing it more often.