Phillipa found a glass in one of the kitchen cupboards, filled it with water and took a gulp, before leaning over the counter top to regain her composure and clear her head. What on earth had happened to her? The whole situation was so humiliating: being in a room full of strangers, strangers whom she now had to possibly share a house with, and totally losing control. She never lost control; in business circles they called her the 'Woman of Steel', but how could she be strong when she didn't even have control over her own body anymore? She had no idea what it was going to do next and, if she was honest with herself, that frightened her. In fact, the whole demon, sharing with strangers, and having magical powers thing frightened her, more than she dared admit to herself.

Gabe's eyes flicked time and time again towards the kitchen, in between his constant pacing of the sitting room.

"Hey, you don't think that witches really can bewitch people do you?" he asked Phoenix and Payton suddenly.

Phoenix was busy at the window, peeping behind the curtains to see if the demons had gone. She stopped though momentarily and turned briefly to glance at Payton, who shrugged her shoulders.

"What?" she asked Gabe, not entirely sure where that question came from.

"Ah nothing," he sighed, running a hand through his hair and finally heading towards the kitchen, saying over his shoulder, "gonna see if she's alright. If I don't come back in a few minutes, come rescue me. Women," he said to himself, tutting.

"Hey, we heard that!" Phoenix called back. "You're going to be outnumbered in this house remember so you'd better change your attitude," she teased, laughing with Payton.

Phillipa heard a small knock and turned around to see Gabe in the kitchen doorway.

"You okay?" he asked.

She forced a smile. "Yes, I'm fine now thanks," she replied with a show of confidence, finishing off the water and placing the glass back on the counter. "Are you okay?" she asked after a short silence.

"Sure, I'm fine," he nodded.

She nodded. There was another short silence.

"Are they alright?" she asked, cringing inwardly. My God, why was this so awkward? She much preferred it when they had shouted and argued; she was more used to handling that kind of situation. But his show of concern and the awful politeness… she had no idea how to deal with it.

"Yes, they're alright," he replied, quickly moving on before he lost his nerve; he had to clear the air. "Look, I'm sorry and all, about in there," he made a head gesture towards the sitting room. "I didn't mean to hurt you…it's just…" he trailed off.

"You didn't hurt me. It was…" God, she was as bad as him: suddenly incapable of coherent speech. She struggled to find a way to explain it without feeling excruciatingly embarrassed. "My powers," she finally had to opt for, laughing and looking to the ceiling. "How ridiculous that sounds!"

He laughed with her, easing some of the tension.

"Yeah, it beats me," he said, moving across the room and leaning back against the kitchen counter next to her.

"It's official; I'm a witch!" she exclaimed with disbelief, throwing her arms in the air.

He laughed again and glanced sideways at her. "If it's any consolation, I wouldn't imagine a witch to look like you."

"You said I had a witch's eyes," she commented, staring at the kitchen table in front of her, not quite wanting to meet his gaze at that moment. What had he meant? She wasn't sure she wanted to be associated with a witch at all.

Suddenly the tension was back and he was glad that she hadn't turned to him then. "I did?" he replied, feigning innocence. In truth, he wasn't sure why he'd said that. He hadn't meant to. "I didn't mean that in a bad way," he assured her. "I guess, your senses were…doing…well, you know, working overtime and…" God, why did he start this? "Well, maybe that affects your eyes, who knows," he finished, mortified at how lame he sounded. He went on, trying to rescue the situation, but he only ended up babbling instead. "I was thinking, we don't use our powers all the time. I mean, I could touch you…" Damn, why had he said that? "and the protective barrier thing, whatever you call it, wouldn't appear every time, just as Pattie doesn't change everything she touches into flowers and demons, right?" He risked a furtive glance at her. She was watching him, those green eyes flitting disconcertingly over his face with amusement. Was he making any sense at all?

"Right," she smiled, trying not to laugh. He was actually making her feel so much better. He was clearly even more edgy than her!

"Well, you… we," he corrected, not wanting to focus only on what had happened to her out there, "all need to just control it, work out what we can do, what we can't, and when we can stop it. And then, if, or when, another one of those demon guys comes after you, you can quit with the 'eye' hypnotic thing, and I can make the barrier thing happen, and everyone's happy, right?" he said all in one breath.

As she listened to him, something suddenly occurred to Phillipa. He was so focused on something that had apparently happened to her eyes, that he didn't seem aware of what had happened to the rest of her. He was right about one thing though: she needed to figure out her powers because her sense of touch was going to be a big problem for her everyday life if she couldn't control it.

She laughed. "Goodness, you figured all that out in such a short time?" she teased.

She was making fun of him, great! "Hey look lady, I was just trying to stop any more embarrassment for you," he replied defensively.

"Me?" Now that was better. She could stand her ground much better with them both angry at each other. She put her hands on her hips. "Can I help it if you keep grabbing me all the time? You need to keep your hands to yourself!"

Gabe started pacing again. "If I had, you'd be Demon toast by now, lady," he replied, quoting Paige, "And not for the first time either!" he stressed, pointing a finger at her.

"Oh that's right, Mr big, hard, tough, bodyguard comes to the rescue. But answer me this Gabe, why didn't you let me up straight away?" She was pushing the boundaries with that one and she knew it, but there was no way she was letting him get the better of her.

Gabe's heart jolted nervously. Why, he wasn't sure. He'd done nothing wrong. "It was you," he came back in self defence.

"Me? How do you work that one out?"

"You bewitched me," he said on impulse.

She threw her head back and laughed loudly. "You're kidding me. I bewitched you did I?" she said with amusement.

"Yes, yes you did. For all I know, it's some kind of scheme you've got going on," he answered, standing his ground.

She barely held back the laughter. "Scheme? And what scheme is that then Gabe?"

He was beginning to see the funny side himself now, but he wasn't going to let her know that.

"To lure men," he replied, unable to hide the slight evidence of a smile on his face.

"Oh right," she chuckled. "No, Gabe, if I wanted a man, I'd get one. I don't need to bewitch men into my bed."

The amusement was now clear on his face. "And how would you get him there then Pippa?" he asked, shortening her name. "With your good manners and charm?" he teased.

"My name is Phillipa, and I can be charming when I chose to be," she came back.

He leant towards her and whispered, "Well I'd love to see it, Pippa," he added for good measure.

"Well, miracles have been known to happen, one day maybe you will," she whispered back.

Then Phoenix startled them both and they jumped away from each other guiltily.

"How much longer do you two intend to be in here?" Phoenix asked, popping her head around the door. "You've been almost an hour already."

They both frowned, and looked at their watches in disbelief.

"Pass us that bottle of wine will you, and some glasses? Are you coming?" Phoenix asked, gesturing to the sitting room.