Episode 5.07: Sins of The Mother

Piper frowned as she entered the dining room the morning after they had lost Prue once again. There were noises coming from the kitchen. She glanced at her watch; it was quite early. Who would be up before me? she thought.

Upon entering the kitchen, Piper found her sister Phoebe scrambling around, seemingly taking all the food there was and putting it onto a tray that sat on the table.

"Uh, Pheebs?" Piper said.

Phoebe jumped and spun around. "Oh, Piper. Hey."

Piper eyed her sister. She looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep at all. Nor had she changed from the day before.

"Something wrong?" Piper asked.

"No, nothing at all," Phoebe said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, for starters, you're up early."

"I've gotten up early before," Phoebe retorted.

"True," Piper said with a nod. "But also..." She nodded at the tray of food.

Phoebe glanced at it. "I'm hungry."

"Uh... huh." Piper could tell her sister was lying. "Phoebe, unless you are gaining a bunch of weight for some movie role you have forgotten to tell me about... I think there's something wrong."

Phoebe took a deep breath and took her time letting it out. Finally she looked Piper in the eye and said, "Cole's back."

"Oh," was all Piper could say. She couldn't admit that she was happy about it. She never completely trusted Cole. He had a way of betraying them at the worst possible time. But Phoebe loved him and he made her happy, so what could Piper do?

"He got back last night," Phoebe continued. "He looks horrible."

"Worse than you?"

Phoebe gave a mock glare. "I look like this because I stayed up all night with him."

"Strange," Piper said. "I didn't hear you."

"Not like that!" Phoebe snapped. "He fell asleep right away and I stayed up all night watching him." She nodded at the food. "I wanted to make sure he had something to eat when he wakes up."

"So..." Piper started. "Does he still have his powers?"

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, he flared in."

Piper bit her lip. This wasn't looking good. "So he failed at getting rid of them..."

"I don't know," Phoebe said. "I haven't been able to talk to him yet. When he showed up he said he needed my help and then he collapsed. He looked so exhausted."

Piper continued to chew on her lip. Finally, she asked the question that she knew would make her sister angry. "Phoebe, what if he can't get rid of them? He'll be too dangerous to have around."

Phoebe's gaze hardened. "Forget that he saved your life?"

"No," Piper said. "But he saved my life before, all of our lives, and then went all evil. What if it happens again?"

"It won't."

"But--"

"Just let me talk to him," Phoebe said. "We don't know anything yet. Just... let me figure this out, okay?"

Piper nodded. "Okay. Go talk to him." Phoebe sighed and picked up the tray. As she walked past her sister, Piper snatched up a box of cereal. "Leave the corn flakes."

Phoebe rolled her eyes and continued walking.

-x-

Paige was awoken by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She reached to her bedside table to snatch it up, but found it to not be there. Groaning, she realized that she had left it on her dresser on the other side of the room.

"Okay, legs. I don't like you and you don't like me. But we have to get up and answer that phone." Paige looked down at her legs that were covered up by a cozy quilt. They weren't budging.

"Hmm," she mused. "You have an excellent point." She held out her hand and called for her cell phone, which appeared in her hand a moment later. She grinned and pushed the talk button. "Hello?"

"Paige, hey, it's Glen."

Paige's grin grew wider and she sat up. She hadn't heard from her high school sweetheart in months. After he had found out she was a witch he was a little hard to get a hold of. Although, Paige thought, he has always been like that.

"Hey, Glen. How are you?"

"I'm good," Glen said. "What about you?"

"Eh," Paige said with a shrug. "I'm a little stiff from being dead, but other than that I'm fine."

"What?! Paige, you died?"

"Kidding, kidding," Paige said to calm him down.

Truth was, she wasn't kidding. She had died the night before, but there was no reason he needed to know that. Non-magical types had a tendency to freak out about that sort of stuff.

"So, what's up?" Paige asked quickly.

"Well," Glen started, "I'm in town and I'd love to be able to see you. We haven't hung out since..."

"Since I saved your life from a bunch of rat demons?" Paige filled in.

"Right," Glen said with a nervous laugh. "Anyway, we should hook up today. How about we meet at Bob's Donuts and Pastry?"

Paige smirked to herself. "You know, if you keep taking me there every time you're in town you're going to make me fat."

"Aw, you're cute when you're pudgy."

"I have never been pudgy!" Paige yelled with mock anger.

"Well, you were after that one summer at camp," Glen chuckled.

"It wasn't my fault they had the best cook in the world working for them," Paige said. "Besides, I worked it off before school started. Well... most of it, anyway."

"Okay, okay. So, meet me there in an hour?"

"Two hours," Paige countered. "You know how long it takes me to get ready."

"Fine," Glen said. "See you in two."

"See you then," Paige said. She hung up and just sat there for a moment, smiling. She was so happy he was back. Her smile then faded as a horrible thought came to her. What am I going to wear?!

-x-

"Knock, knock," Phoebe whispered, pushing her bedroom door open.

Cole sat on the bed putting his shoes on. He looked up at her and frowned. "It's your room, you don't have to knock."

"Yeah, well--" Phoebe paused, looking Cole over. "Your wounds are gone."

"One of the few perks of having all these powers," Cole said, getting to his feet. "Here, let me help you with that." He took the tray from her. "Uh... leave anything for anyone else?"

"Of course," Phoebe said. "I left some corn flakes."

Cole smiled and set the tray down on the bed. He then took Phoebe in his arms and kissed her. Phoebe melted in his embrace, the rest of the world fading away. But it all came flying back as Cole broke the kiss.

"I've missed you," he said.

"I've missed you too," Phoebe said, caressing Cole's cheek. "I don't want you to ever leave again."

"Well, I have to," Cole said with a sigh.

"But... not right now," Phoebe said, hoping it was true.

Cole stepped back. "I'm sorry, but I have to."

"What about last night? You asked for my help."

Cole shrugged. "I was delirious. I don't want you getting mixed up in this."

"Cole, you're the love of my life," Phoebe said. "I'm already mixed up in it. Now tell me what's going on."

Another sigh slipped from Cole's lips. "I found a way to get rid of my demonic powers," he began.

"Cole, that's great," Phoebe said. "How?"

"There is this group of powerful wizards, sorcerers, and other magical beings that believe they have the power to extract my powers and contain them."

Phoebe frowned. "Wizards? I thought they were extinct after..." She paused. "After I killed the last one."

Cole shook his head. "No, there are others that are well hidden. This group has hidden itself from most of the magical world. I had to do a lot of digging to find them."

"Okay, so they can extract your powers," Phoebe said, prodding Cole on. "So what's the problem?"

"We made a deal," Cole explained. "They will extract my powers only after I vanquish several demons that are their enemies. Which isn't that much of a problem. I know most of the demons they want me to vanquish and I definitely have the power to do so. The problem is that I have already vanquished half-a-dozen upper-level demons and they keep telling me to vanquish more."

"So you think they're just using you to get rid of their enemies?" Phoebe asked. "Maybe they don't even really have the power to help you."

"I don't know," Cole said, with another shake of his head. "All I can do right now is do what they want."

"So how can I help?"

"Well a few of the demons they want me to vanquish I don't know much about. If you could..."

"Look them up in the Book of Shadows?" Phoebe finished.

Cole nodded.

"Okay," Phoebe said, getting up. "I'll go get the Book." She put a hand against Cole's chest as he started to get up. "Nuh uh. You sit down and eat. I'll be right back." She gave him a quick kiss and left the room, bumping into Leo.

"Sorry," Leo said.

"It's okay. Is Piper still in the kitchen?"

Leo shook his head. "No, she left for P3."

Phoebe frowned. "Already? Why is she going in so early."

"I don't know," Leo said with a shrug. "She just said something about a big meeting with her staff."

"What about Paige?"

"Getting ready to go out for a breakfast date," Leo said. "She said that Glen is back in town."

"Damn," Phoebe hissed.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

"Cole's back," Phoebe said. "And he needs our help to get rid of his powers." She sighed. "Guess I'm going to have to do this without them," she said, heading for the stairs to the attic.

-x-

"Piper, what are we doing here?"

Piper looked up at Rex, the manager of P3. He, along with the rest of the staff, were sitting at tables around P3. Most of them looked cranky beyond belief and Piper's best waitress, Nancy, was half asleep.

"Okay, I know you're all a little angry at me for calling an emergency meeting," Piper said. "But this is important."

"Do we all need to be here?" Nancy asked, holding her head up with her hand. "I worked close last night and I'm really tired."

"I get that you're all tired," Piper said. "But this will affect all of you."

"What will?" Rex asked.

"We're changing P3," Piper announced.

"Oh no." A look of horror came over another one of the waitresse's face. "This isn't going to be like last year when we changed the place to The Spot, is it? I don't want to jeopardize my job, but that wasn't your best business choice."

Piper shook her head. "No, nothing like that. I want to change P3 into a restaurant. Hold your questions," Piper said quickly, waving her hands. "It would be a restaurant during the day and a club at night."

"Where did this idea come from?" Rex asked.

Piper sighed and said, "Well, I haven't been very happy with my career for awhile now. I love this club, but it's just not what I've always wanted to do. I've always wanted to have my own restaurant and be a chef and I haven't done anything close to that since I worked at Quake." She looked around at the stunned faces of her employees. "We wouldn't have to change much. We've already got a kitchen; just have to add a few things to it. The biggest change would be hiring some more workers. Also, if some of you want to do waitressing during the restaurant hours, that would be great."

Silence followed.

"So... what do you all think?" Piper ask. "I really want to hear your opinions on the matter."

"I like the idea," Nancy spoke up. "Working nights here has really taken me away from my kid. Being able to work during the day would work out much better for me."

Piper nodded. "Yeah, really we'd just be doing breakfast and lunch. So you could work during then. After that we'd close for a few hours to get the place ready for the club scene."

"So I assume you'd be head chef of the restaurant and continue to be owner of the whole place?" Rex asked, Piper nodding in response. "Who would manage the place?"

"Well, I thought I would hire a daytime manager and leave you to take care of the club at night," Piper answered. "Unless you want to change to being the daytime manager."

Rex shook his head. "No, I'm good with sticking with the club."

"All right," Piper said. "So I haven't heard any objections. Which I assume means that you are all okay with this?"

Everyone nodded.

"Great," Piper said with a grin. "Okay, you can all go on home and I'll get started on this. I want to get this plan going as soon as possible."

-x-

Paige pulled up next to the bakery and got out of her car. She was dressed to impress, wanting to let Glen know that she was open to having a relationship again. She had felt so cut off from all her recent boyfriends, knowing she couldn't tell them her secret.

But Glen already knew and was okay with it. Maybe this time they could truly be together.

A bell jingled as she opened the door. Because the place was so small, she instantly spotted Glen sitting near the back. He saw her and waved. She waved back and walked over to him. Glen stood up as she approached and they exchanged quick kisses on the cheek before sitting down.

Paige glanced down at the table and saw a plate with a pastry on it sitting in front of her. "Aw, you ordered for me already. Glad you know what I like." She paused. "Wait, this isn't what I like. And it has a bite out of it already..."

"Sorry about that," came the perky voice of a woman behind Paige. "Had to run to the ladies room. Oh, you must be Paige!"

Paige slowly turned around to see a young blonde woman standing there. She had this perfect white smile plastered on her face and was holding out her had to Paige.

"Uh, yeah, I am," Paige said, not taking the offered hand. "And who are you?"

The woman's smile faded. "Glen didn't tell you about me?"

Paige glanced at Glen, who was sitting there, staring down at the table and twiddling his thumbs. "No, he didn't."

"Glen, honey? Why don't you introduce us?"

Honey? Paige thought.

Glen gave a nervous cough. "Desiree, this is Paige. Paige, this is Desiree. My fiancé."

Paige's face paled. "Fiancé?" she repeated, not being able to believe it.

"That's me," Desiree said with a little wave. "Now, if you don't mind, could I have my seat back? My back and my feet are killing me. I swear, they don't tell you about all this pain before you get pregnant."

Only then did Paige notice the massive bulge that was this woman's stomach. The pigment of her skin went down another notch. She silently got up and looked around for another chair.

"Oh, sorry," Glen said. He jumped up and grabbed a chair from a vacant table next to them. Paige sat down, still not saying a word. "You okay?" Glen asked. "I mean, if it's possible, you look paler than usual."

"I'm fine," Paige said. She suddenly realized how rude she was being. So she put on a fake smile and said, "Wow, getting married and having a baby. You've been busy, Glen."

"I know it's all happening kind of fast," Glen said. "But it doesn't really matter when you are truly in love with someone." He smiled at Desiree and took her hand in his.

I think I'm gonna be sick, Paige thought, but kept her smile firmly on.

-x-

A green skinned demon cried out as he was hit by an energy ball, exploding in a fiery burst a moment later.

Cole spun and threw another energy ball, taking out the last of the demons guarding the lair of Beldaz, the second to last demon on Cole's list.

That demon now came out of the lair, a fireball hovering above his palm. "What is the meaning of this?" he bellowed. "Why are you attacking my lair?"

Cole shrugged. "It's nothing personal. Just business." He conjured an energy ball. "Time to close the deal."

"I don't think so," Beldaz growled, launching the fireball at Cole. The attack hit him in the shoulder, spinning Cole to the rocky ground.

"Okay, I think it's time for me to step in," Phoebe said, stepping out from behind a large boulder. Beldaz paused in confusion, allowing Phoebe the time to pull out a potion and throw it, vanquishing the demon.

"Thanks," Cole said, sitting up. "Glad you were here."

"Glad there was a vanquishing potion for him in the Book," Phoebe said, helping Cole to his feet. "And you didn't want to bring it."

"I could have taken him," Cole protested.

Phoebe ignored this. "How's your arm?"

"It's fine," Cole said. "Already healed."

"Yeah, creepy."

"Leo can heal you in seconds. Is that creepy too?"

"That's good magic," Phoebe said. "This is evil, creepy magic."

"Which is exactly why I am trying to get rid of my powers."

"I know. So let's go look up that last demon, shall we?"

-x-

"I think we should knock down this wall," Piper said, tapping a pencil against her chin.

"You sure?" Leo asked. He was dressed up in his handyman gear, tool belt and all. Piper had called him about an hour earlier and had asked him to come and help her to prepare for the renovation of the club.

"I think it will open up more space for tables," Piper said.

"You don't want to knock down that wall," Leo said.

"Why not?" Piper asked.

"There are supports in that wall. Knock it down and part of the roof will collapse."

"Oh." Piper bit her lip and glanced around. "Then we'll knock down that wall."

"Let's just hold off on knocking down walls for now, okay?"

"Fine," Piper grumbled, spinning on her heel. She had barely taken a step when Paige orbed in directly in front of her.

"She's a demon!" Paige yelled.

Piper frowned in confusion. "Who?"

"Glen's fiancé!"

"Glen is getting married?" Piper asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah," Paige said with a nod. "Not only that, but he's going to have a kid, too."

"Wow, that was fast," Piper said.

"Exactly what I thought," Paige said. "And she is very pregnant, like she could burst at any moment."

"Paige, please don't say it like that. I'm going to be having a baby, too, and I don't want to think of it like popping a cork out of a wine bottle."

"Whatever," Paige said, waving her hands dismissively. "My point is that I don't think Glen has known her long enough for her to be this pregnant. So my conclusion?"

"Oh, do tell."

"She's a demon and now her half demon baby is growing really fast."

"Uh... huh," Piper said. "And you don't think Glen would have noticed this?"

Paige shrugged. "He's never been the smartest wedge of cheese in the cheese factory."

"What?"

"I'm freaking out here, leave me alone!"

"Right, exactly. You're freaking out," Piper said with a nod. "I don't think you are thinking about this very clearly."

"Yes I am," Paige protested. "I know for a fact that it hasn't been nine months since I last saw Glen."

"Are you sure?"

Paige's shoulders sagged. "No."

"Piper's right," Leo said, having been listening to all of this while he worked. "You are obviously angry that he has found someone else when you were hoping you two could get back together."

"I wasn't hoping for that at all," Paige said.

Piper and Leo glanced at Paige's outfit.

"Really?" Piper asked.

"Okay, fine, maybe I was."

"It makes sense that you're angry," Leo said. "But jumping to the conclusion that she is a demon isn't a very good idea."

"I know that I may just be crazy and that I'm seeing demons that aren't there, but I need to know. Isn't there some spell or potion I can use to find out?"

Piper nodded. "There are a few."

"Great," Paige said. "Will you help me?"

"I can't," Piper said, gesturing at the club. "I have stuff to do."

"Let me worry about this stuff right now," Leo said. "Truthfully, right now you will only be in the way. Go help Paige."

"Fine," Piper groaned.

"Great, thanks, let's go!" Paige latched onto a reluctant Piper and orbed them away.

-x-

Phoebe ducked as the demon exploded, flaming bits of it flying everywhere. "Okay, that's the last one. Right?"

Cole heaved a sigh. "I sure hope so."

Phoebe took Cole's hand. "Let's go find out."

Phoebe's vision blurred as Cole flared the two of them out of the Underworld. When it cleared, she found they were in some sort of temple. Rock walls with flickering torches surrounded them; there seemed to be no exits. In the center of this room was a stone table with five robed people sitting at it, their faces hidden by hoods.

"I'm guessing they're the clan of wizards?" Phoebe asked.

"Officially, we're called the Order of Teraka," said the wizard in the center.

"How nice," Phoebe said. "Well, he did what you asked. Now will you get those powers out of him?"

"Phoebe," Cole whispered. "Let me handle this." He turned back to the seated wizards. "I took out the demons you asked me to."

"We know," the center wizard said. "Our oracles told us this."

"So do I get my reward?"

"Not yet."

"What?!" Phoebe balked. "You cannot keep doing this to him!"

"Phoebe, please," Cole said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No, you did what they asked!" Phoebe yelled. "They are just stringing you along. You don't even know if they can actually do what they promised."

"We can and we will," said the center wizard. "One more demon is all we ask."

"Fine," Cole said. "Who is it?"

"Demora."

"No..." Cole whispered, taking a step backwards. "No. I won't."

"You must."

"No!" Cole grabbed Phoebe's arm and flared them out.

-x-

"Okay, I want a color that is warmer. Something that will make my customers feel comfortable." Piper nodded as the painter she had called gave some suggestions.

She and Paige sat in Piper's Jeep SUV, waiting for Desiree to show up at her apartment. Paige was glancing around constantly while Piper had put her seat into a more lounging position and was talking on her cell phone.

"No, not maroon," Piper said, scrunching her nose. "I'm thinking like a tannish... goldish... color. ... What do you mean I need to be more specific? Hello? ... Hello?" She snapped her phone shut and threw it in her purse. "He hung up on me."

"I would have done the same thing," Paige said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

Paige sighed. "Piper, I know I'm the crazy one today, but I'm going to take a break from that and give you some sane advice."

"Okay..."

"I think you are going about all this way too fast," Paige said. "Out of nowhere you decide to change the club into a restaurant."

"It'll still be a club," Piper interrupted. "But just at night."

"Okay, great. But where is this coming from?"

Piper shrugged, looking away. "Prue suggested it to me yesterday. I thought it was a good idea."

"Well, Prue was smart. It is a good idea. Opens up the place during the day, allowing there to be a larger cash flow. Also allows you to get back to your cooking roots--"

"So what's the problem?" Piper snapped.

"The problem is you are going about this way too fast. When I orbed in earlier you were talking about knocking down walls already."

"How would you know?" Piper asked. "You orbed in after I said that and started ranting about demons."

"We whitelighter types can hear snippets of things just before we orb in," Paige explained.

"Really? I didn't know that..."

"My point is that you need to be smart about this if you really want to do it," Paige continued. "Don't just start knocking down walls and don't have Leo be your contractor. He's good for fixing up things around the house, but for this kind of thing you need a professional."

"I know that," Piper grumbled.

"And you need a professional painter, too. Not 'Larry The Painter Guy', who you found in the phone book five minutes before we left."

"Okay, okay," Piper said. "I get your point. I guess having Prue around yesterday and then her being taken away again so quickly just reminded me that life is short. You never know when your time is up. So I wanted to do this as fast as I could."

"I understand," Paige said. "But Rome wasn't built in a day, you know."

"It would have been if I was in charge," Piper quipped.

Paige smiled and glanced out the window. "There she is!"

Piper looked at the woman entering the apartment building. "She's pretty." Paige gave her a smack on the arm. "Sorry."

"Got the potion?" Paige asked.

"Yeah, right here," Piper said, pulling it out of her purse and handing it to her sister.

"And you're sure this will work?"

"It should," Piper said. "Prue made it for Phoebe when we suspected a detective might be a demon. All we have to do is slip it into her coffee. If she's a demon, it will constrict her throat and cause her to choke."

"Piper?"

"Hmm?"

"She's pregnant. She doesn't drink coffee!"

"Right. Well, maybe it will work with herbal tea."

"It better," Paige said, getting out of the car.

-x-

"Cole, talk to me!" Phoebe yelled, following Cole into the attic. Cole hadn't said a word since they had gotten back and seemed to be having an inner battle with himself. "Tell me who that demon is."

Cole shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"It doesn't concern you!" Cole snapped.

"You concern me," Phoebe said. "And this deals with you, so it concerns me. Now who is Demora? You obviously know her."

"She's just someone from my past," Cole said. "Someone I can't kill."

"She's a demon, isn't she? Like all the others you just killed."

"This is different," Cole said, turning away.

"How?" Phoebe asked.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me!" Phoebe yelled. Cole said nothing. "Cole, this demon is the only thing standing in the way of you getting rid of your powers. The only thing standing in the way of us truly being together. Are you just going to throw that all away?"

"I... I don't know," Cole whispered.

"Cole--"

"I have to go," Cole said suddenly. "I have to get out of here. Get some air."

"Cole, wait." But he was already gone. Phoebe sighed. "Fine. If you won't tell me, I'll find out who this demon is on my own."

She went over to the Book of Shadows and started paging through it. After several minutes of looking she found who she was looking for.

"Demora," Phoebe read out loud. "An upper-level demon, respected by much of the Underworld. She is known for mating with mortals to create demons with a natural human form, so that they may integrate themselves into the human world and work for evil above ground. Some of the greatest demons to come from her include Hexor, Valmara, Shendra, and... Belthazor." Phoebe's face paled as she looked up from the Book. "Oh my god... She's his mother."

-x-

"I have to tell you, Paige, I'm surprised you're here." Desiree sat down on a chair in the living room of her apartment, Paige and Piper taking the couch. "You seemed... not very happy earlier today."

"Oh, that?" Paige shook her head. "I was just surprised. It came as quite a shock, Glen suddenly getting married and having a kid. You know, I don't think I ever pictured him as being a dad. He seems a little too..."

"Adventurous?" Desiree said. She smiled as Paige nodded. "Yeah, I really love that about him. I know it doesn't seem like a good thing for a dad to be the type that goes off to Australia or something at a moments notice. But our family will be different. We'll travel around the world, having fun. Our kid will see more countries in his first ten years than most people see in their entire lives."

"Oh, so you're having a boy?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Desiree said with a smile and a nod.

"I'm having a girl," Piper said.

"Oh, I didn't even know you were pregnant," Desiree said, glancing at Piper's belly. "How far along are you?"

"A few months."

Desiree frowned. "It usually takes twenty weeks to know the gender of the baby. Sometimes sixteen. So... isn't it a little early for you to know?"

Piper glanced at Paige. She couldn't exactly tell Desiree that she had gone to the future and seen that she had a daughter. "Uh, well, I have a feeling," she said with a weak smile.

"I see." Desiree suddenly got up. "Sorry. Artificial nature calls. Being calling every twenty minutes. I should sue for harassment."

"Artificial...?" Paige said, confusion etched on her face.

"Bathroom," Desiree explained. As she turned and headed for the bathroom, she muttered, "Don't know why nobody gets that joke..."

After Desiree had gone, Piper looked at Paige. "She seems really nice, Paige."

"A little too nice," Paige said.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Why do we do this? Why do we think that everyone in our lives is a demon or some other magical creature?"

"Because it's usually true," Paige said. "Too many boyfriends have turned out to be demons for us to not think like this."

"Maybe your boyfriends," Piper said. "I ended up with an angel."

"Ended up with, yes. But Phoebe told me you used to date a warlock," Paige said with a snide smile.

"Oh, shush," Piper said.

A moment later, Desiree came back.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I forgot to offer you something to drink. Did you want tea?"

"Tea sounds great," Piper said.

"Great. Because it's all I've got." She turned to go to the kitchen, but Paige stopped her.

"No, I'll do it," she said, jumping up. "You're pregnant and should be sitting down."

"Are you sure?" Desiree asked. "I mean, you two are my guests."

"I'd be happy to do it," Paige said. She walked past Desiree towards the kitchen, sending a knowing glance back at Piper.

A few minutes later, Paige came back with the tea, setting a cup each in front of Desiree and Piper, keeping her own in her hands. "Bottoms up," she said with a small laugh.

Both she and Piper watched intently as Desiree picked up her cup of tea. But before she could take a sip...

"Uh oh," Desiree said.

"What is it?" Piper asked.

"My water just broke... AH!" She screamed out in pain, dropping her cup. It crashed on the floor, breaking and sending a flood of hot tea across the hard wood.

"Oh, she's having contractions," Piper said, getting to her feet.

"We have to get you to the hospital," Paige said.

Desiree shook her head, wincing in pain. "There's no time. This baby is coming NOW."

-x-

Leo walked into the kitchen to find Phoebe hard at work making a potion. He frowned and said, "So is Paige's demon actually a demon?"

Phoebe looked up from the smoking pot that sat on the stove. "What are you talking about?"

"This isn't about Paige thinking Glen's fiancé is a demon?"

Phoebe's eyes widened. "Glen has a fiancé?"

"Oh. Guess not," Leo said. "So what is this about?"

Phoebe took a deep breath. "Cole's mother."

"What?"

"Cole found some people who can extract his powers. But the deal was that he vanquishes some demons that are their enemies first. The last demon they want taken out is a demon called Demora. I looked her up in the Book of Shadows. She's Cole's mother."

"So where's Cole?" Leo asked.

Phoebe shook her head. "I don't know. He ran off before I found out who the demon was."

"Think he went to vanquish her?"

"No," Phoebe said, shaking her head once again. "He refused to do it when once he heard who the demon was. And can you blame him? She's his mother."

"Not exactly," Leo said. "She raised his demon half, not his human half."

"It doesn't matter," Phoebe said. "Whether she raised his human half or not, she is still his mother. And how can any sane person kill their mother?"

"So you're going to do it for him?" Leo asked, gesturing at the potion.

Phoebe took a turkey baster, extracting some of the potion from the pot and putting it into a waiting vial. "Cole needs this," she said, capping the vial. "There may not be another way to get rid of his powers. So I'm doing what has to be done. For us."

Leo nodded. "How are you going to find her?"

Phoebe moved over to the table where the Book of Shadows sat open. "I'm going to reword and reverse the spell to summon Belthazor."

"Makes sense," Leo said. "What about the potion? I assume she's an upper-level demon, so won't you need some of her flesh to make it work?"

"Still had some Belthazor flesh left over," Phoebe said. "Since she's his mother, I'm hoping it will work on her too." She was about to read the spell, but paused. "If Cole comes back... don't tell him where I am."

"But..."

"I don't want him to try and stop me," Phoebe said sternly. "Just don't tell him, okay?"

Leo sighed. "Okay."

"Thanks." Phoebe turned back to the Book. "Magic forces black and white, reaching out through space and light. Be she near or be she far, bring me to Belthazor's mother."

"Not your best work," Leo said.

Phoebe was about to give a scathing retort, but was suddenly swept up in a swirl of white lights. For several moments, all she could see was a blindingly bright light. The light finally faded and she found herself in a small apartment, greeted by the sounds of a woman screaming.

Phoebe spun around to see an extremely pregnant woman laying on the couch, obviously in labor. And next to her? Piper and Paige.

"Oh my god," Phoebe said.

Piper looked up. "Phoebe? What are you doing here?"

"I cast a spell to bring me to Cole's mother," Phoebe said.

"Cole's mother?" Paige repeated. She slowly turned to look at Desiree. "Which means..."

Desiree's eyes suddenly flared red and Paige and Piper were sent flying back, Piper landing on a chair and Paige slamming into the wall and dropping to the floor.

Phoebe took the potion from her jacket pocket, but before she could throw it the door swung open and Glen came in. He was obviously confused as he took in the scene before him. "What's going on here?"

"She's a demon!" Paige yelled, getting up from the floor. "Phoebe, throw the potion!"

"No!" Glen yelled, knocking the potion from Phoebe's hand. It fell to the floor and broke, spilling its contents. Glen then ran to Desiree and knelt beside her.

"Glen, don't let them her me," Desiree pleaded, gasping for breath. "Don't let them hurt our baby."

"Don't worry," Glen said. "I won't." He turned to Paige, his eyes filled with anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Glen, she's--"

"Not everyone's a demon, Paige!" Glen yelled, cutting her off.

Desiree suddenly screamed again and, moments later, another scream joined hers; this one the scream of a baby. Glen turned, and when he turned back he had a baby in his arms. Snatching a pair of scissors up from the coffee table, he cut the umbilical cord. Then he took a blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped the baby up in it.

"Glen," Desiree whispered. "Give the baby to me." Glen did so and Desiree smiled. "Thanks. Now I don't need you anymore." Her eyes flared red again and Glen was knocked back, landing a few feet away from the sisters.

"Desiree... What is this?" Glen asked, as Paige helped him up.

"My name isn't really Desiree," said the new mother, getting to her feet. "It's Demora."

"Cole's mother," Phoebe whispered.

Demora cast her gaze on Phoebe. "More specifically, Belthazor's mother. But that's right. ... Who are you?"

"She's the love of my life," Cole said, suddenly appearing.

"Belthazor," Demora said, looking at Cole with adorning eyes. "I thought you were dead."

"He is," Cole said.

"What?"

Cole conjured an energy ball.

Demora's eyes now took on a look of fear. "What are you doing?"

"Vanquishing you," Cole said simply.

"But you can't," Demora said, shaking her head. "I'm your mother!"

"No," Cole said. "You're not." He threw the energy ball and it hit her in the chest, vaporizing her. As Demora's body disintegrated, the baby dropped towards the floor. Piper instinctively shot out her hands, freezing the child in midair.

"Cole," Phoebe said, going over to him. "How did you know I was here?"

"I didn't. I was looking for Demora and sensed her here."

"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked.

Cole nodded. "I just had to realize that she was Belthazor's mother. She was never mine."

"Okay, time to vanquish the other demon," Paige said. "I think I can orb that potion off the floor..."

"No!" Glen yelled. He ran past Paige and over to the baby, taking it in his arms and out of its freeze.

"Glen, the baby is a demon," Paige said sternly. "We have to vanquish it."

"He's my son," Glen shot back. "I don't care if he's a demon."

"But--" Paige started.

"No," Glen said. "I won't let you hurt him. I'll kill you if you try."

Paige opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She looked at her sisters for help, but they could offer none. What could they say to get a father to allow the vanquish of his son?

-x-

Leo and Piper sat together at a table in the club, watching as people danced to the the blaring music on the dance floor.

"So what color are you thinking of painting this place?" Leo asked.

"Tannish goldish," Piper said.

"How specific," Leo said with a laugh. He then got serious. "Piper I want to talk to you about this idea. I think it's a good one, but I think you are going about it too fast."

Piper nodded. "I know. Paige already gave me the speech. Don't worry. I'm going to slow down and have professionals do all the painting and the contracting." She paused. "No offense, honey."

"None taken."

Piper looked up towards the stairs that led into the club. "Speak of the devil," she said. Paige was coming down the stairs. Piper waved to her and Paige came over, side stepping around dancers to avoid being trampled.

"Hey," Paige said, taking a seat.

"Hey," Piper said. "... How's Glen?"

"He's... very stubborn," Paige said. "I tried to explain to him how dangerous it will be to have a demon child around the house. Especially when his daddy has no magical powers to protect himself. But he wouldn't listen to me. He believes that he can raise his kid to be a good person, demon or no."

"I kind of understand where he's coming from," Leo said. "I don't think I could let anyone kill our baby once she is born. Even if she turned out to be evil."

"Hey, don't jinx it," Piper whined, giving Leo a light smack on the arm. "And she won't be. She's got a good witch and an angel for parents. I think she's good to go."

"I just hope Glen can handle it," Paige continued. "He's kind of mad at me right now, but I let him know that I will be there if he needs me."

"That's very nice of you," Piper said. "Especially since you were right about Desiree." She paused. "Well, Demora, actually."

"I didn't really want to be right," Paige said. "I think Glen really loved her."

"He'll be okay."

Paige nodded, then looked around. "So where's Phoebe?"

"She's with Cole," Piper said. "The Order of Teraka, or whatever Phoebe called them, should be extracting Cole's powers..." She looked at her watch. "Right about now."

"Hope it works," Paige said.

"We're all hoping it works," Piper said.

-x-

Cole screamed out in pain, clawing at his chest. The Order of Teraka stood in a circle around him, hands raised to the stone ceiling of their temple. They chanted unintelligible words that echoed around the room. Phoebe stood off to the side, hands clasped together, praying that this would work.

A dark, smokey essence suddenly exploded from Cole's chest and flew up into the air. It hung there for several moments, writhing and moving in all directions, like it didn't know where to go. Finally it shot across the room and down to the stone table, entering a glass sphere that sat upon it. There it stayed, still writhing, but unable to escape the sphere.

"It is done," the leader of the Order said, dropping his hands to his sides. He went and picked up the sphere. "Your powers were so great that this was the only option. This sphere will contain them, but they must never be let out." He handed the sphere to Cole. "It will be up to you to protect it."

Cole glanced at Phoebe. "I think I'll be able to handle it with the Charmed Ones on my side."

Phoebe smiled and walked over to Cole, embracing him. "You bet."

"So," Cole said. "You think our lives will become really dull now?"

"Oh, I doubt it," Phoebe said, kissing Cole. After a moment she broke the kiss and looked around, frowning. "Uh... Cole?"

"Yeah?"

"There are no doors in this place. How do we get out of here now that you don't have your powers anymore?"

The two glanced around, then looked up to the ceiling, simultaneously calling out, "LEO!!!"

End of Episode 5.07: Sins of The Mother