Summary: Cole Turner has survived for 4 years without Phoebe, raising their son by himself. But what happens when young Warren wants his Mommy?

Disclaimer: When I buy it, I'll let you know it's mine.

Chapter 9

Phoebe, Paige and Piper sat in the sitting room, gazing at the TV screen. Every so often Phoebe, ever the romantic, would sigh blissfully at the story on screen. They were in the middle of the first film, a romance that was a new release. Phoebe and Piper sat curled up on the couch, Paige sitting on the floor at their feet. Piper scoffed at the screen.

"No one wakes up looking as perfect as that!" she exclaimed. Phoebe shushed her, but Paige frowned and said

"I have to agree. That hair must have taken hours of straightening."

"That's not the point!" Phoebe protested. "Now hush! You're ruining the movie!" Piper and Paige snickered quietly.

"Sorry." Piper whispered insincerely. "We'll be good."

"Speak for yourself, sister. This movie is way to phoney for me. Can't we change to another one?" Paige requested.

"Yes, let's." Piper's voice said loudly, drowning out Phoebe's protesting "No!"

"You're outvoted, Pheebs!" Paige said cheerfully. "Two to one!"

She scuttled over to the TV as Phoebe huffed and slumped back into her seat.

"How come the middle child is always outvoted?" Piper, marvelling at the fact that they had already demolished one bowl, left the room to make more popcorn as Phoebe voiced her opinion.

"Get over it, Pheebs!" Paige said as she took the DVD out and replaced it with another. "You can watch it later if you like it so much."

"But I was watching it now!" Phoebe whined. She heard a shuffling sound out in the hall and Cole came into sight, holding a sleeping Warren in his arms.

"Cole!" Phoebe said in surprise, rising from her chair. "What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you supposed to be at Victor's?" Paige queried.

"I need you to take Warren." Cole panted, obviously in a rush.

"What? Why?" she asked, already holding her hands out for the child in Cole's arms. Warren, stirring slightly, reached for his mother as he was deposited in her arms.

"Demons. They're at the apartment. I have to go back, but I can't bring Warren with me. He'll be safer here, and I don't want to lead them to your dad's. You wouldn't want them after Leo and the boys, would you?"

"No!" Phoebe clutched Warren to her protectively. "He can go into Chris or Wyatt's bed."

"Go." Paige said, standing. "We'll protect him. We've done it before."

"We're a bit out of practise." Phoebe smiled. "But we'll be fine."

"Thanks." Cole replied gratefully. He bent down to kiss Warren's head. As he straightened, he noticed Phoebe looking down at the four year old adorably. Sighing at how right they looked together, he left. Paige nudged her older sister in the arm.

"Take Warren upstairs and put him to bed. I'll tell Piper to call Victor and tell Leo and the boys Cole isn't coming." She headed for the kitchen, leaving Phoebe in the sitting room. Warren stirred and mumbled in his sleep.

'How did we get back into this again?' Phoebe wondered, shaking her head. She looked down at Warren once more and started up the stairs. When she lay Warren in Wyatt's bed, he woke.

"Daddy?" he asked sleepily.

"No, it's Phoebe." The middle sister told him. "Daddy's gone to fight some bad people. He left you at my house, so you'd be safe."

"Oh. Are Wy and little Chris here?" he asked.

"Sorry, War. They've gone to their granddads for the evening. They'll be here in the morning, though, when you wake up."

"Ok." He yawned. "Night."

"Goodnight." Phoebe said softly. She smoothed down his hair and left the room, jumping as she met Piper outside the door.

"He's asleep." She informed the oldest sister. "Are you angry Cole brought him here?"

"What? No." Piper looked shocked. "I'd rather have him here and demons coming after us than him unsafe somewhere else. And Paige is all ready for a demon battle. She's upstairs, making all-purpose vanquishing potions." Phoebe smiled.

"She isn't really fond of this whole living without magic thing, is she?" she asked. Piper shook her head.

"No. I sometimes feel bad for pulling you two into my normal life without demons. It was never what Paige wanted."

"Don't worry about it, Piper." Phoebe assured her. "I love not having to vanquish demons every other day. And one day Paige will want a normal life too. When she finds the right guy and wants to settle down, she'll be glad we don't have demons to vanquish anymore. And besides, she's still connected to magic, with her charges. And as for me, well, if I ever have a son or daughter as cute as Warren in there, I'll be so glad that they'll be safe." Hearing the love in Phoebe's voice when she spoke about Warren, Piper felt guilty.

'Why does Cole want so badly to keep Warren from her? He's her child, too.'

"Phoebe…" Piper started. Phoebe waved her away.

"I've told you, Piper. There's nothing to feel bad about."

"No. It's not that. Phoebe, Warren…" the words died on Piper's lips. Right or wrong, she had made a promise to Cole. Even if Phoebe had a right to know about Warren, it wasn't Piper's decision to make.

"What about Warren?" Phoebe asked curiously. Piper mustered a grin.

"Just that you're right. He is adorable. And I know the children you'll have someday will be just like him." She said honestly. Phoebe grinned.

"You think so?"

"I know so. You're going to be a great mom someday, sweetie."

"Thanks, Piper." Phoebe said, inexplicably relieved. "That means a lot."

"So what do you say we go help Paige with her preparations?" Piper asked.

"Sure." Phoebe agreed, silently thinking she'd rather just sit and watch Warren sleep. They went up to the attic to find Paige busiedly preparing potions. She shoved a box of crystals at Phoebe as the two neared the table.

"Here, put these around the Warren's room. I don't want anyone getting in to him." She instructed.

"Paige, don't you think you're going a little overboard?" Piper asked, looking at the array. "We don't even know that the demons are going to come after Warren here."

"There's no harm in being prepared." Phoebe said as she went out the attic door.

"Exactly." Paige agreed. "Which is why we've got some of our older demon vanquish potions out here." She pointed at a few different coloured potions on the table, then used a dropper to fill a few other vials. Piper moved around the table to stand beside her and started corking potion vials as Paige handed them to her.

"Ok, crystals are set – whoa! Paige, behind you!" Phoebe warned as she came back in. Paige orbed out just before the demon grabbed her. She reappeared beside Phoebe as Piper whirled around and froze the demon.

"Potion!" Paige yelled, and one of the older potion vials on the table orbed and smashed at the demon's feet.

"Oh my God." Phoebe exclaimed as Paige's jaw dropped and Piper started laughing. The demon was buried under a mountain of daisies.

"How was I supposed to know that the potions had gone bad?" Paige asked as Phoebe stared at her accusingly. Piper tried to stop laughing long enough to get a sentence out.

"Don't worry, I got it." She flicked her hands at the pile and quickly blew up the demon, scattering daisy petals everywhere. Paige started giggling too, and Phoebe stifled a grin.

"I think it's safe to say we are a little bit out of practise." She commented to her laughing sisters.

AnimeAlexis: I know, I know, it took forever to come out! But I had rowing All-Irelands followed by a trip to Wales, so I didn't have connection to the Net for like 2 weeks. And THEN, when I thought I was home free, I got a callback for a TV show that had me staying in a hotel in Dublin for four days, again with no internet. Torture! You should see the state of my mail inbox. Besides, these chapters are hard to write! I know where I'm going, but not how. Anyway, I'll have a new chap up soon, before I go back to school. For those who are reading Reversal, I've updated that, too! Review please!