Return of the Ex's

The sisters were out enjoying a peaceful lunch together, discussing past relationships.

"I think it's safe to say we've all dated the evilest of evils." Paige said.

"Don't remind me." Phoebe said. "I think Piper's had the most luck with that though."

"That's true, besides Jeremy my men have been pretty good."

"I've pretty much been the demon catcher; Piper's been the dead guy catcher." Phoebe said.

"That's-That's funny...true but funny. Remember the cute ghost from about over a decade ago." Piper said.

"Yeah, he was hot and sweet." Phoebe said as she reflected on the memory.

"I missed out on so much not growing up with you all. My parents were great but I don't know…sometimes I just wonder what it would have been like if we got to grow up together."

"So do we Paige. I also wonder what it would have been like if mom and dad could have raised us." Phoebe said.

"Well, I have to stop by Melinda's before I pick the kids up from school so I'll call you both later." Piper announced referring to her restaurant.

"Speaking of Melinda, how is she adjusting to this new life of hers?" Phoebe asked Piper before she got on her way.

"She's doing really well, actually. She's so happy, she gets along with all the kids and she is so sweet." Piper replied.

"That's great." Paige said.

"I'll talk to you two later." Piper said and got a move on it.

Piper spent a few hours at Melinda's to get some things in order and then headed out to get the kids. She hopped in her dark blue jeep and put the key in ignition.

"I really think it's time I got a new car." Piper thought, feeling like she's had the same jeep for way too long and was ready to upgrade.

She drove off, on her way to her children's elementary school, that she; herself had attended as a child. She wasn't far from the school when she stopped at a red light and another car hit her from behind.

"Oh great!" Piper exclaimed, now annoyed. She pulled over, got out of her car and looked at the back. It looked horrible.

"I guess I have an excuse to buy another car now." She thought.

The other driver got out of his car and approached Piper.

"I am so sorry! I don't know what I was thinking! I'll pay for it. I promise. I have insurance." The man said and Piper finally looked up at him.

"Dan?" Piper said, surprised to see her ex-boyfriend standing right in front of her.

Piper hadn't seen Dan in about eleven years now. He still looked really good.

"Piper. Wow, it's been so long." Dan said, surprised to see her as well. "You look good."

"Thanks. You're looking darn good yourself."

"Thanks…I'm so sorry about your car. You've had this car forever and here I come, messing it up. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

Piper and Dan exchanged information to handle the incident.

"How have you been anyway?" Piper asked.

"I'm great. I have a construction company now and I'm actually moving back to San Francisco."

"Really? Where?"

"My old house."

"Oh!" Piper exclaimed, surprised. "That's great."

"How are you?"

"Things have never been better. I sold P3 and I own a restaurant now."

"You've always wanted to do that, congratulations! What's it called?"

"It's called Melinda's, after one of my ancestors. You should check it out."

"Definitely. Anything else, new?

"I'm married… to Leo."

"The dead guy?"

Piper laughed nervously. "What?"

"I researched him, trying to protect you. He died in World War I."

"Two, actually and that was his grandfather."

"I'd fall for that if I didn't remember being told that he was some kind of guardian angel and then seeing the proof."

Piper looked perplexed. She knew she wished for the genie to have Dan forget anything about magic.

"I remember. Something triggered it all to come back to me a few years ago but don't worry. I will never tell a soul. Besides, I think I understand now." Dan said.

"Thanks, I appreciate that and… Leo's mortal now, not an angel…anymore."

"Interesting." Dan said, confused but didn't want to dwell on it. "By the way, I heard about Prue. I'm so sorry."

"Thanks… I really need to hurry and pick up my kids from school before I'm late."

"You have kids?"

"Yeah! Three- Four, four kids." Piper was so used to saying she had three she had to catch herself. "Eight, six and four… The oldest are twins."

"You've been a busy lady."

"Yeah! I have. I'll see you soon."

Phoebe walked into her condo with Parker toddling in beside her. They walked into the living room and who does Phoebe see but Cole Turner, comfortably sitting in Coop's favorite chair. Phoebe quickly picked Parker up.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Timbuktu somewhere?" Phoebe said displeased with her ex-husband's much unexpected visit.

"I assume you're not at all ecstatic to see me." Cole said.

"Why would I be? I haven't seen you in years and THAT has made me ecstatic."

"Is that the way you talk to the love of your life that saved your sister's life and marriage?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh Piper didn't tell you? By the way, cute kid."

"You stay away from her!"

"Phoebe, you know me better than that. I would never hurt your daughter; she just should've been my daughter and the one you're carrying too, instead of that cupid."

"I am so glad I didn't have any demon seeds with you. So, why are you here?"

"…Do I still have a chance?" Cole asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Phoebe asked, unbelievingly.

"So that's a no? Ok. Well I'm here on a different mission."

"I don't have time for you Cole. Get out! You just like to keep coming back to make me miserable."

"To the contrary, even after death I'm trying to make you happy. That's why I saved Piper and that's also why I sent Drake to you. I wanted you to believe in love again, after all real love means that sometimes you must let go."

Phoebe reflected on the fact that Drake said he made a deal with someone and realized that someone must have been Cole but Cole's statements had thrown her off a bit. They were so unlike him.

"Ok Cole, what do you want and make it snappy?" Phoebe said.

Paige arrived at the San Francisco airport in her red SUV to pick up her oldest friend, Glenn. Patience, Peace and H.J were peacefully sleeping in the backseat.

"Hey, Paige! Thanks for picking me up. I hope this wasn't too much trouble." Glenn said after getting in the car.

"No, it's fine. I was happy to. No Jessica?"

"No… she decided to stay home this trip."

"Oh ok. Where to?"

"I was hoping we could hang out for a while if you're not too busy. I see you have your kids with you. They're adorable but of course they are, look at their mother."

"You're sweet." Paige said and then drove off.

Paige got home and put the kids in their cribs. They were already sound asleep. Then Paige got some snacks and she and Glenn hung out in her living room.

"Are you still a witch?" Glenn asked.

"I'll always be a witch. I always have been a witch; I just didn't always know it. Now I also have whitelighter duties but I like it. I've learned to embrace it."

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. We've never been apart this long. We go all the way back to kindergarten, snot noses and nap time." Paige said.

"Hey." Henry said after he entered the home from a long day of work."

"Henry!" Paige exclaimed and got up to kiss him. "This is my old friend, Glenn. Glenn, this is my husband Henry."

They exchanged greetings.

"It's nice to meet you. Where are the kids?" Henry asked.

"They are sound asleep." Paige replied.

"Great. I'm so exhausted. I need to take a quick nap. I love you." Henry said.

"I love you, too. Have a good nap." Paige said before Henry ascended the stairs.

Paige and Glenn hung out for a while and talked for a long time.

"I love you." Glenn said.

"I love you too, Glenn." Paige responded as a friend would say to another friend.

"No, I mean I love you. I am in love with you, Paige."

Paige's mouth was wide open and she couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Take that back!" Paige demanded.

"No. I meant it."

"You're married. I'm married. We're not married to each other. My husband is right upstairs."

"I know. I'm sorry but I had to tell you."

"What about your wife?"

"The divorce is almost final."

"Divorce? Glenn, I'm sorry about your marriage but my marriage isn't on the rocks. I am happy. I moved on from you. Remember, you didn't want me and you got married? I got over it. You will too. I don't want this friendship to be ruined."

"I figured you would react like this. It's ok. I understand. I should go."

"How are you going to get to the hotel?"

"I'll call a cab."

"I'll do you one better. Get your things."

Glenn walked over to his luggage and then wondered what she meant. Paige then waved her hand and orbed Glenn and his luggage to the hotel.

"I can't believe him." Paige shook her head and then went upstairs to check on the kids.

Later that week, it was evening and Piper wondered what to put on for dinner. She heard commotion coming from upstairs so she went up to check. The fuss was coming from Melinda's room. Piper opened the door.

"What's going on?" She asked Melinda and Wyatt for they were the only ones in the room.

"…I'm showing Melinda how to control her magic before she gets us killed." Wyatt said.

"Wyatt! She's not going to get anyone killed."

"You can never be too sure." Wyatt said.

"Fine but don't hurt each other and don't break anything."

"We won't!" Wyatt said happily.

Piper went back downstairs and heard a knock at the door once she got to the last step. She answered and there was Dan Gordon. She invited him in. They handled the car situation earlier in the week so this was about something else.

"I didn't think I would actually make it through the door. I never could before." Dan said.

Piper laughed.

"Things have calmed down considerably since then." Piper said. "What's going on?"

"There's a problem and I think you're the only one who can help me."

"How's that?"

"It's about that supernatural stuff."

Piper brushed her long brown hair out of her face with her hand and wondered what this problem could possibly be.

"What's this problem?"

"I have a friend and she's actually… a witch."

"Really?" Piper said, shocked.

"Yes, she's missing and I think a demon took her. She said these really powerful demons were after her."

"That's a little odd because most of the demons have been in hiding for a while and keeping a low profile."

"Do you think you can help me find her?"

"Yeah. I'll help. Do you have something of hers?"

"Yeah. I have this amulet." Dan said as he pulled it out and handed it to Piper.

"That's not good." Piper thought to herself. "If she's not wearing it, she's not protected."

"Can you use this to do whatever it is you have to do?"

"Yeah it's perfect."

Chris and Prue orbed in the room. That scared the living daylights out of Dan.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Dan replied as he caught his breath.

"What are you two doing?" Piper asked in a stern tone.

"Sorry. I told her not to do it. I was trying to catch her." Chris said.

"No more orbing, we have company." Piper said. "Sorry about that, Dan. This is my youngest son and daughter, Chris and Prue. Chris, Prue, this is our neighbor Mr. Dan."

"Hi!" Chris and Prue said and ran off.

"No running!" Piper exclaimed.

"They're cute. They look just like you."

"Thanks, they act just like me too. The oldest two act just like-"

"Hey." Leo said walking in the room.

"-Leo." Piper said finishing her sentence. "Leo, you remember, Dan."

"Yep, sure do."

There was an awkward silence.

"Nice seeing you again, Leo." Dan said not really meaning it. "I've got to go."

"I'll look into this for you. What's your friend's name?"

"Her name's Bryce."

Dan left the Halliwell manor and left Piper and Leo alone.

"So he really is back. What was this visit about?"

"He actually has a friend who's a witch and she's missing. He thinks there's a demon behind it so I told him I'd help."

Piper kissed Leo and headed to the kitchen to start dinner. She decided to cook a Chinese recipe Mark, the Chinese ghost she fell for about a decade ago had given her.

Paige and Phoebe orbed in.

"Hey! Staying for dinner?" Piper asked, enthused.

Paige and Phoebe both thought about it first.

"Yeah! We'll go home and get the rest of the family later because we KNOW I'm not cooking." Paige said. "Anyway, I'm in desperate need of sister talk."

"Me too." Phoebe added.

"What's going on?" Piper asked as she continued to cook.

"Glenn is in love with me." Paige said.

"Cole is back." Phoebe said.

"You win." Paige said. "What does he want this time?"

"He claims he just wants my help. Can you believe that?"

"Oh please." Paige said.

"I can kind of believe him." Piper said.

"What? He said he helped you once." Phoebe said.

"That's true. I didn't want to bother you with it when you were finally letting him go and moving on."

"So you think he's telling the truth?" Phoebe questioned.

"He is still dead, right?" Paige asked.

"Yeah but not really for the time being, he said he's only back for a limited amount of time. He has goals to accomplish." Phoebe said.

"What exactly is he asking you to help him with?" Piper asked.

"He said he needed me to help him find this girl. He claims this girl is his great-great-great niece he knew nothing about and she's allegedly not a demon. He claims he didn't even know he had a brother on his father's side."

"I believe him." Piper said.

"Why?" Paige asked.

"He has a niece? That's not a very Cole like lie. I'll be the first to say I've never been much of a Cole fan but I'll admit I think the human part of him wanted to be good. Now that he's dead, maybe he's actually trying to be the good he couldn't be when he was alive. He didn't have to help me… although he actually did for you but still." Piper said.

"Maybe you're right but why do I have to be the one to help him. Either one of you want to take my place?"

"What's this niece's name?" Piper asked.

"Berry? Brook? Bryce! That's it, Bryce."

"Bryce? That's the same name of the girl Dan wants me to find for him. He says he thinks demons have her."

"This is a shock but since when does Dan know about all this stuff?" Phoebe asked.

"Recently, I guess."

"He's moved back next door, huh? I have to get one good look at him. He was so fine!"

"Phoebe!" Paige exclaimed.

"What? A girl can look. You haven't even seen him. Paige, you have to see him!"

Piper and Paige searched for Bryce together. She was taken by upper-level demons who found out that she was the niece of Belthazar. They didn't believe he was dead and thought they could lure him back to the underworld when he found out. Their plan backfired because all they got was vanquished by two of the Charmed Ones. Her full name was Bryce Colette Turner. Apparently, Cole's father had an older son with a mortal woman named Benjamin Colerige Turner II. He had a son who was Ben Turner III, his son was Ben Turner IV. Ben IV married a good witch and in that bond Bryce was created.

Dan picked Bryce up and hugged her tightly when he saw her. He ran his hands through her shoulder length brown hair, looked into her blue eyes and smiled. He had obviously fallen in love with Bryce and was extremely grateful that Piper and Paige saved her.

Cole wouldn't leave until Phoebe agreed to look after Bryce. She didn't want to agree but she did in order to make him go away as soon as possible.

Paige didn't want to do it but she had to end her life long friendship with Glenn, at least until he got over her. It was so obvious that he was in love with her and he needed to let that go.

A few days later, Piper picked up Melinda, Wyatt and Chris from school. They got out of Piper's brand new, silver car and Nathanial Pratt walked by with his dog. Wyatt and Chris continued up the stairs but Melinda stopped and just watched him pass.

"What wrong?" Piper asked.

"That man, he's a bad man." Melinda said.

"I know but here he hasn't done all the things he's done in the other world and he's not going to. Don't worry." Piper assured Melinda and they continued up the stairs and into the manor. "Grandpa's coming to baby-sit you all so that I can go back to work!" Piper said as she walked into the living room and then she saw a ball go toward Melinda and then watched it become a ball of ice. Melinda used her Cryokinesis power. "Wyatt!" Piper exclaimed.

"I was just testing Melinda's powers." Wyatt said, explaining his reasoning for throwing the ball in the house. "See, she has way more control now. Mom, we have to be skilled at this stuff."

"All you have to do is be a kid." Piper said.

"Yeah but if we practice, when we're all grown up we'll be like BAM, BAM, BAM." Wyatt said while using crazy hand gestures.

Melinda then waved her hand and turned the frozen ball into a doll.

"She's really getting good with those powers." Piper thought.

"Hey! I want my ball back!" Wyatt exclaimed.