Chapter 18: The Fifth Halliwheel
Buffy and Willow sat at the family's usual booth at P4 with Paige, Piper, Leo, Phoebe and Cole. Tara was the only one who was not there as she sat in the back office watching Dawn. Each of the couples snuggled close together.
"To our marriage," Phoebe said as she nibbled on Cole's ear.
"Hey, this is supposed to be our anniversary," Piper said as she looked at Phoebe.
"Oh, right," Phoebe said.
"To Piper and Leo's marriage," Buffy said as she raised her glass and they all took a sip of their drinks.
Paige who was beginning to feel uncomfortable watched as her sisters kissed their husbands, or in Buffy's case wife. "Well, alright, everybody, I, uh, am going to go take over for Tara so she can join in the celebration. Besides I'm tired, I think I will take Dawn back to the manor.
"Wait, you can't go yet, Paige," Cole said. "We haven't gotten to the good part."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought watching you guys make out all night was supposed to be the highlight of my evening," Paige said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie, are we boring you?" Phoebe asked.
Paige sighed. "No, no, it's just it is weird seeing a girl that wasn't the marrying type be so married."
"Piper and Buffy both tried to tell me that it was going to be great and different," Phoebe admitted.
"Well, you just have to experience it and you'll understand," Piper said.
"Alright, so the good part?" Paige asked as she watched Phoebe and Cole kiss.
"Oh, yes, the good part," Cole said as he handed Piper and Leo an envelope.
Piper opened the envelope to find reservations at the finest hotel in Hawaii. "Oh my god."
"Cole," Leo said surprised at Cole's generosity.
"It's no big deal," Cole said.
"It's the finest hotel in Hawaii," Leo said.
"Yes, it is," Buffy said as Piper and Leo looked at her. "Cole and I split it. After all you two didn't get a honeymoon, especially after I almost ruined your wedding."
"Hang on, you two got them tickets to Hawaii?" Paige asked.
"Well, not plane tickets, they'll have to orb there," Cole said. "But, uh, hotel and a couple of nice dinners."
"Buffy, Cole, I can't believe you two did this," Piper said surprised that Cole and Buffy had done this for her and Leo.
"Am I missing something?" Paige asked. "Cole, aren't you unemployed? How did you afford to split it with Buffy?"
"A-a-a-ah," Cole said. "That's tomorrow's surprise."
"And Buffy don't you have …"
"The added expense of diapers and what not for Dawn," Buffy said with a nod. "Yes. But see my mom had the foresight to have a Will. When she died, she left both the house and gallery to me."
"But legally your dead," Paige said confused.
"And I had the foresight to have a Will also. I left both to Willow. It was supposed to be in trust for Dawn but sadly that couldn't happen since Dawn officially died with me. Of course, we know that Giles got Faith released from prison and she is staying at my house in Sunnydale. But mom's gallery, Willow sold it and gave me the money for it. That's where my portion came from."
"You didn't have to do that, Buffy," Piper said as she looked at her eldest sister. "After all, that money was your inheritance. You should have set it aside for yourself."
"Oh, I didn't use it all," Buffy said. "Some of the antiques mom had in the gallery were pretty expensive. So, there is some left for both myself and Dawn."
"Anyways," Cole said, "another toast. To Leo and to Piper, a life time of happiness."
They clink their glasses and take a sip. Cole suddenly choked on his drink and coughed.
"Are you okay?" Phoebe asked as she glanced worriedly at her husband. "Baby, are you okay?"
"Fine, fine. Excuse me, I'll be right back," Cole said as he stood and walked away.
"Wow, so, you think, uh, Cole won the lottery or something?" Paige wondered.
"I know I did," Phoebe said.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The Seer stood in front of a cauldron in the Underworld as Cole flamed in.
"I was with the entire family, have you lost your mind?" Cole said.
"Forgive me," the Seer said. "But it was imperative that I have you here now if my ritual is to take effect."
"I am trying to be the perfect husband," Cole explained. "The perfect brother-in-law. It would help if I didn't have demons waving at me from the dance floor."
"If my fertility ritual fails, the show's over anyway," the Seer told him. "Tomorrow's harvest moon will be the one chance to impregnate your wife. The power of the moon combined with this tonic will make her fertile to a demon's seed, and override any preventative measures she's taken. Her favorite sweet?"
"Chocolate," Cole answered.
"Then I'll mix it with the chocolate," the Seer said. "You must feed it to her in the morning, and then finish the job when the moon is high in the night's sky. And if you succeed, the evil spawn growing inside her will influence her only for lenience so that when she does discover the truth, she will bend to your will."
"She will bend to her love for me," Cole said.
The Seer picked up a knife and moved closer to Cole. "For the tonic," she explained as she cut his hand and he dripped his blood into the cauldron.
After he had flamed out to return to the family her eyes went white and she smiled. "Soon your seed will create the most power half demon, half witch the world has ever seen. And then she will take your place as the Source and destroy the Charmed Ones."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The next morning Buffy, Tara and Willow were crowded into their bathroom getting ready for the day.
"Can I try this?" Tara asked as she held up Buffy's lipstick.
"Always, baby," Buffy said.
"My hairclip broke," Willow said with a frown.
"Try one of mine," Tara offered handing Willow a hairclip. "So, when is Piper and Leo leaving on their honeymoon?"
"The hotel reservations start tonight and go through the weekend," Buffy said as they heard a car horn sound from just outside the house.
They head downstairs and outside where they join Leo, Piper, Phoebe and Paige looking at Cole who stood beside a silver convertible.
"Surprise!" Cole said as he smiled at them.
"A new car?" Leo said surprised.
"Where did you get that?" Piper asked.
"It came with the job," Cole answered.
"Ahh, are you a valet parker?" Paige asked.
"Attorney, thank you very much. It's a company car," Cole said as he handed Phoebe a bouquet of flowers.
"Are you serious?" Phoebe asked.
"Did you say you hated being a lawyer," Tara asked.
"Yeah, but that last job was high stressed and paid nothing. This one..." Cole said.
"Comes with a Porsche," Leo finished for Cole.
"Right," Cole said having noticed his wife was not smiling. "How comes she's not smiling?"
Leo shrugged. "You got me. Is this the tip tranic?"
"Uh, no," Cole replied. He looked at Phoebe. "I thought you'd be happy."
Phoebe smiled. "Cole, if you're happy, I'm happy."
"Alright," Cole said as he took a box of chocolates out of the car. He took the lid off to show them to Phoebe. "I got your favorite chocolates. And I reserved the honeymoon suite at the Mark."
"A honeymoon?" Phoebe said.
"Just for tonight," Cole said. "What do you say?"
Phoebe smiled. "Ooh, I say I need to do a little bit of shopping first, I think. What do you say, Piper?"
"Uh, Rebekah Ryan's playing at the club tonight so I've got to go set up," Piper replied.
"I'll cover for you," Willow offered. "As long as you two take Buffy and Tara with you. Then if we can get rid of Paige, we can have our own honeymoon tonight."
"So, chocolates? You sure you don't want one, they smell pretty good?" Cole said.
"Mmm, maybe you are evil," Phoebe said as she kissed her husband. "I love you."
"So, what law firm are you working for?" Paige asked.
"Are you familiar with Wolfram and Hart out of Los Angeles?" Cole asked as he glanced at Tara, Buffy and Willow and wondered if they had heard of the law firm or not. After all he knew Buffy's former love in Los Angeles dealt with them on occasion.
"No," Paige said. "I deal with mostly ones in San Francisco from time to time. Well, I better get to work. Congratulations."
"Thanks," Cole said as Paige headed toward her car.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Later Buffy, Tara, Piper and Phoebe were in a lingerie store. Buffy, Tara and Piper were waiting on Phoebe who was in a dressing room.
"Okay, what do you think?" Phoebe asked as she came out wearing a purple lingerie dress.
"Ooh, wow," a man said as his girlfriend hit him.
"Hey!" the girlfriend said angrily.
"I think he liked it and I think she didn't," Piper said.
"Okay, but what is it saying?" Phoebe asked. "Because I'm going for that kind of, we're married but we're not dead look."
Buffy looked at Phoebe and smiled. "Personally, I think it's more of a I'm going to wear this one night, and spend the next six months paying it off kind of look."
"Buffy, I hate it when you're right," Phoebe said as he headed back into the dressing room.
"I think you could probably afford anything you want now that Cole's gone corporate," Piper said.
"Yeah, well, I'm not going to rely on that," Phoebe said. "And I'm not just going to sit at home while my husband works either, you know. I mean, maybe in ten years from now like when I have kids, but not now."
"Sounds like you just hit a nerve," Tara said.
"I just think it's time I got a job too, you know," Phoebe said. "What do you guys think?"
"Uh, I think being so charming as we are, is kind of a full-time job," Piper said.
"Phoebe does have a point," Buffy agreed. "Think about it Piper, how many people live in the Manor now?"
Piper looked toward Buffy and began counting. "You, Willow, Tara, Me, Leo, Phoebe, Cole, Paige, Dawn," she said. "Seven, I see where you're going, Buffy. But Cole's going to be bringing in a few extra bucks." She then looked toward the dressing room. "Which you should enjoy, Pheebs."
"it's not only about the, money," Phoebe said. "I have a degree in psychology that I worked really hard for and I would like to be able to use it to help people in a non-magical way. Besides you let Buffy get Prue's old job back."
"That was because of Dawn," Piper said as they left the lingerie store. "After all Buffy, Willow and Tara do have a baby to take care of. You know diapers and formula and other baby things to buy."
They noticed a woman standing in the middle of the road as cars sped past her.
"Speaking of helping people," Piper said as a passing car honked at the woman. She raised her hands and froze it as Phoebe ran across the road and pushed the woman out of the way. Piper releases the freeze. She, Buffy and Tara ran across the road to help. "Oh, good thing that car had breaks, huh. You would've been road killed."
"Totally," Phoebe agreed.
"Are you okay?" Buffy asked.
"Can you help me get to work?" the woman asked. "I won't make my deadline; I've got to get to work."
"Alright," Tara said as Phoebe touched the woman. She, Buffy and Piper all recognized that Phoebe had just had a premonition. "Phoebe?"
"Innocent," Phoebe said.
Piper sighed. "Of course."
0 – 0 - 0 – 0 – 0
At the Manor Cole was with the Seer. "What do you mean she wouldn't eat it?" she asked. She knew it had to work or Willow would cease to exist. Her visions were never wrong, she had seen that the baby she was trying to help Cole conceive would wind up not only in the past but would grow up to be Willow.
"I mean I thought shoving it down her throat might be a little suspicious. So, is it too late?" Cole said.
"No. The tonic is stronger the longer it has to gestate, it might still work," the Seer said.
"Then keep an eye out and warn me of any demons who might be planning to attack, I can't afford any distractions for Phoebe," Cole said as the front door opened. He waved his hand and the Seer transformed into a man. He turned and saw Buffy, Tara, Piper, Phoebe and the woman walking through the front door.
"Cole, we have to, uh..." Phoebe said as she noticed the man.
"Oh, this is, this is Mike. My law clerk," Cole explained. "He was just leaving. Thanks, you can catch me up on those cases tomorrow."
"Right. Sure. Excuse me," Mike said as he left.
"Cole, this is Karen Young," Phoebe said.
"Pleased to meet you," Cole said.
"She, uh, she needs our help," Phoebe said.
"I was going in early, it was still dark, I said goodbye to my husband, and I don't remember," Karen was explaining a couple moments later as tears began to fall from her face. "I don't understand what's happening to me."
"Karen, I know you're scared but we're gonna help you, I promise," Buffy said as she watched Phoebe and Cole walk into the foyer.
"What's wrong with her?" Cole asked.
"I don't know. I had a premonition that she was being attacked by demons, only I don't think it was a premonition, I think it already happened. But she was hit by some kind of light ball. So, we might have to postpone this evening, baby," Phoebe said.
"No, we can't," Cole objected.
"Well, innocents come first."
"Of course, they do," Cole said. "I just, I just can't wait to be alone with you. I'll do whatever I can to help." He spotted the chocolates on the table and picked up holding it before Phoebe's mouth. "Forgive me?"
Phoebe hesitated and then took a bite. "Mmmm," she said as Cole kissed her.
"Phoebe," Tara said as she approached the couple. "As much as I want to be doing what you two are doing right now with my wives. We do have an innocent, remember?"
"Right," Phoebe said.
"Piper and Buffy are going to stay with her while you and I go check the book," Tara said as she and Phoebe headed for the stairs. She picked up a chocolate and popped it into her mouth.
"Uh, Tara?" Cole said.
"Yeah?" Tara said as she glanced at Cole over her shoulder.
"Uh, nothing, it's okay," Cole said as he laughed.
"Mm, suddenly I can't wait for you two to go on your honeymoon and Piper and Leo to go on theirs. So that Buffy, Willow and I can have some us time tonight," Tara said.
"Mm-hm, me either," Phoebe agreed. "Must be the full moon."
Cole turned and walked into the living room. "Do we know what happened?" he asked as he looked at Piper and Buffy.
"She doesn't know," Buffy said.
"Why don't you two get her something to eat and I will see if I can help her jog her memory," Cole suggested as he looked at Buffy and Piper.
"Good thinking, Cole," Piper said as she and Buffy headed for the kitchen.
Cole held his hand above her head and it glowed. "Who attacked you?" he asked.
"Don't touch me!" Karen said as she half jumped out of her skin. "Don't touch me, leave me alone! He was touching me."
It was then that Cole saw Paige and Willow standing in the doorway to the foyer. "I didn't hear you two come in. What's the matter? Paige, you look like you saw a ghost."
"I'm not sure what I saw," Paige admitted.
"What do you mean?" Cole asked.
"What were you doing to her?"
"Well, I was comforting her," Cole lied. "If you hadn't noticed she's hysterical."
It was that moment that Phoebe and Tara came back down the stairs. "Got it," Phoebe said.
"That was quick," admitted Cole as Phoebe walked over to him and cuddled up with him.
"Uh, we have a problem," said Paige.
"What is it?" asked Tara as she walked over to Willow and kissed the redhead."
"I mean, what's the problem with her?" Paige said as she looked at the book. "Power brokers?"
"Of course," Cole said.
"Apparently the light ball that was thrown at Karen was a demonic power," said Tara as Piper and Buffy came back with food and drinks.
"Yeah, brokers sometimes use people to store powers until they find a buyer," explained Cole. "That way thieves can't get to them."
"Human being possessed of a demonic power will become confused then frightened, paranoid, violent and demonic, will ultimately die if the power isn't withdrawn," Paige read.
"There is a potion to pull the power out of her," said Tara.
Cole waved his hand behind his back and his pager beeped. He looked at it. "Uh, it's work. They probably want me to fill out more forms."
"Okay, baby, well, you go and we'll call you if we need you," said Phoebe as Cole kissed her before leaving.
"I've gotta get outta here," Karen said. "I have a family to take care of."
"Karen, your family is okay," said Buffy.
"But I have a job! I-I-I have a deadline," said Karen. "Elise, she'll fire me."
"It's okay, we'll talk to Elise for you, we'll tell her you're with us, we'll make it all okay," said Willow.
"I'll go," said Piper.
"No," said Willow. "Phoebe should go."
"You're the best with potions," agreed Paige pulling out her keys and handing them to Phoebe. "Here, honey, take my car."
"Call me if things get worse," said Phoebe as she left.
"Buffy, you are with me we're going to the herb store," said Piper. "This potion takes a while to brew and we're all out of hyssop. Willow, Tara I need you two to start cooking. Paige, you stay with Karen."
"No, I-I have to talk to you guys about something," said Paige. "You all are going to hate me for saying this but I think I saw Cole use..."
"No," said Piper. "Paige, we've been through this a million times."
"No, this is different. I think I saw Cole use demonic..." said Paige. "Willow back me up. You saw it didn't you?"
"Sorry," said Willow. "I'm not sure what you saw but I didn't see anything. Besides Cole is human now, there can't be anything demonic anymore in relation to him."
"Willow's right," said Piper, "and whether you like it or not, he's your brother-in-law. So whatever issues you have with him you're going to have to take care of yourself."
Piper and Buffy head for the front door while Willow and Tara head into the kitchen.
"Karen, can I ask you a couple of questions?" Paige asked.
Outside Piper and Buffy get in Piper's car and drove off as Cole pulled up in front of the house in his convertible.
Inside Paige and Karen are still talking. "I don't know, I just felt him do something behind me," said Karen.
"Something like what?" asked Paige. "Did you see him do anything?"
"Who are you?" Karen asked looking at Paige suspiciously. "Why did you bring me here?"
"Paige. Have you seen Piper around?" asked Leo as he walked up to Paige.
"Yeah, you just missed her, she and Buffy went to the store," said Paige. "Aren't you supposed to be on club duty?"
"Well, I'd much rather be on my honeymoon," Leo admitted before motioning toward Karen. "Who is she? Is there something wrong?"
"No, she's an innocent, we're on top of it," answered Paige. "More importantly, I think I saw Cole using magical powers."
"What?" said Leo shocked.
"Yes. I know it sounds crazy but I think I saw his hand glow," said Paige.
Leo sighed. "Paige..."
"No, look, there's something strange going on," Paige explained. "All the elaborate gifts and he's got the fifty-thousand-dollar car, what kind of job comes with perks like that?"
"So, Cole gets a company car and that automatically makes him a demon in your eyes?" asked Leo.
"No, no, it's just that something is different with him lately and it's not good," answered Paige. "Am I the only one seeing this?"
"Maybe you're the only one who wants to see it," Leo admitted.
"Meaning?" asked Paige.
"Meaning that no one wants to be the fifth wheel," Leo answered.
Paige sighed. "That's not fair."
"You know what's not fair? Is you judging Cole for his past. He's not a demon anymore and he's part of this family," Leo said as he headed outside before flaming out. A moment later he orbed into the Underworld and morphed into Cole. He turned and looked at the Seer. "Paige saw me using my powers."
"What?" said the Seer. "You've been exposed?"
Cole shook his head. "Not necessarily, she's not certain what she saw."
"Nevertheless, she must die," the Seer told him.
"A little subtlety," Cole explained. "That would hardly put Phoebe in an amorous mood and I'm too close now to abandon my plan."
"If one of the witches is onto you, more than your plan is at risk," the Seer explained.
"Still, she's not sure she can trust her own eyes," Cole said. "And I think I know a way to make sure no one trusts what Paige says she saw."
"How?" the Seer wondered.
Cole smiled. "The innocent the girls brought home was infected by a power broker."
"What does that have to do with it?" she asked.
"If I can get a power broker to do the same to Paige, she'll become unstable as well. But by the time she reaches breaking point Piper and Phoebe will be on their honeymoons," Cole explained.
"What about the Slayer?" asked the Seer. "She could alert her even if she doesn't alert the others."
"Not if I accelerate her slide. Push her past fear and into paranoia. Then she won't trust them enough to alert them," Cole said as he waved hand and a power broker appeared.
"Who did this?" the power broker asked. "Who pulled me here?"
"I did," Cole said as his eyes went solid black.
"Source. You live," said the power broker as he knelt in front of Cole.
"Let's just keep that between us for now," Cole said as the power broker stood up. "I have an assignment for you. If you succeed, you will be rewarded with more power than you can possibly imagine."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the kitchen of the Manor Willow and Tara were making the potion while Paige sat with Karen at the table.
"I got to get out of here," Karen mumbled to herself. "I got to get out of here now!" She stood up and pushed the table onto its side. She headed for the door as Paige moved in her way.
"Karen, the medicine is almost finished, after you take it you can go anywhere you want," said Paige.
"You're trying to poison me," said Karen not believing anything Paige, Willow or Tara said. "You're working for that bitch Elise. I'm going to kill her before she kills me."
"No, we are only trying to help you," said Tara as she moved to stand next to Paige. "No one is trying to hurt you."
"I don't want your help," said Karen as she shoved Paige and Tara to the floor. She ran out of the kitchen and into the foyer.
"I'll get her," said Paige who orbed out and in, in front of Karen. "I'm sorry, I just can't let you go."
"Oh my god, what are you?" asked Karen as she pounced at Paige who jumped out of the way.
It was at that moment that Cole walked through the front door grabbing Karen. "What's going on in here?" he asked.
"Get off me! Leave me alone!" Karen shouted.
"Where's Phoebe?" Cole asked.
"Good question," answered Paige as the power broker smoked in behind her.
"Paige, behind you!" Cole said as the power broker threw a white ball at Paige and she glowed. Cole let go of Karen and dove on the power broker. "Paige, get her out of here!"
"Stay away from me!" Karen said as she held up her hands and fire came from them, burning Paige's arms. She ran outside.
"Leo!" Paige called as she grimaced in pain from the burns.
Leo orbed in with Buffy and Piper. He hurried to Paige and began healing her.
"Power broker, blow him up!" Cole said looking at Piper.
"What?" asked the power broker, confused as Piper blew him up.
"Where's Karen?" Buffy asked.
A few minutes later Paige, Leo and Cole sat in the kitchen as they watched Buffy, Tara and Willow make the potion.
"You should be feeling better, I healed your wounds," said Leo.
"Oh, yeah, I am just a little woozy," said Paige.
"It was like acid spray, hurt Paige pretty bad. So, um, we need to find Karen fast," said Piper into the phone as she walked into the kitchen.
"So, our innocent is now our demon?" asked Phoebe from the other end of the phone.
"Right. But she is still our innocent," said Piper. "And, listen, Paige and Tara said she was ranting about hating her boss so she could be on her way there."
"Oh, well, great, then you should be on your way here too," said Phoebe. "Because there's not a lot I can do against an acid breathing innocent, you know."
"The acid is coming out of her hands," Piper told her sister.
"Whatever. I'm on a deadline, okay."
Piper sighed as she ended the call. "Okay, Buffy, You and I are going to Phoebe in case Karen goes there."
"I'll orb you," offered Paige.
"No. Your orbing's still a little clumsy. And besides, they might need Leo's healing powers," said Cole.
"Uh, yeah, he's right," agreed Piper. "You should stay here in case Karen comes back, while Willow and Tara finish the potion. And if there's any problems, any real problems, you three can call for us."
Piper and Buffy took Leo's hands and he orbed out with them.
"Paige, you don't still have a problem with me, do you?" Cole asked. "I don't believe it, I saved your life out there."
"I-I just, I don't understand," said Paige as she ran out of the room.
"Tara? Willow?" Cole said. "Shouldn't you two check on her?"
Tara and Willow looked at each and nodded. They ran after Paige.
Cole smiled as he knocked over the potion causing it to spill onto the floor. "Oops."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
At the Bay Mirror Newspaper offices; Buffy, Piper and Leo were in Karen's office looking through the window. Behind them Phoebe was typing on the computer.
"What if she doesn't come here?" Buffy asked.
"It's our best bet," said Leo.
"How do you spell oblique?" Phoebe asked.
"With spell check," Piper told her sister as Karen barged in to the main room.
"There she is," said Leo.
"Out of my way," said Karen as she ran into a man.
"Come on," said Buffy as she opened the door. "Karen. She's in here, she's waiting for your assignment."
Karen walked in and looked around.
"Yes!" said Phoebe excitedly as she finished. "Printing."
"Hi, saving," said Piper. "Karen, we have your medicine."
Acid spray came out of Karen's hands straight at Piper and Phoebe. Piper jumped out of the way as Phoebe levitated out of the way just as the spray melted the computer.
"Whoa, it's a good thing I was done," said Phoebe as Piper froze Karen.
"Someone's coming and the door doesn't lock," said Leo.
"Oh, that's Elise," said Phoebe. "She's coming for Karen's assignment. God, I hope she likes it."
Piper grabbed Karen from behind as Karen unfroze. Buffy opened Karen's mouth and emptied a vial of a potion down Karen's throat.
Elise tried to open the door as Leo held it closed. "Karen? Karen, open the door."
Piper sat Karen on the chair as a light came out of her.
Leo let go of the door. "Sorry, it was jammed," he said as Elise walked into the office.
"What the hell is going on in here? Who are you?" asked Elise.
"Uh, this is, this is Karen's doctor and nurses," said Phoebe. "I told you, she's very sick."
"Is she going to live?" asked Elise.
"Uh, yeah, yeah, she's going to be fine," Leo answered.
Elise smiled. "Good," she said. She looked at Karen. "Where's my copy?"
"Um, I don't..." Karen said, clearly confused.
"I have that. I have the copy," said Phoebe as she took the paper out of the printer and handed it to Elise.
"Ha!" said Elise as she read what Phoebe had written. "That's funny."
"I-It's funny?" Phoebe wondered. "Like-like bad funny? What's funny?"
"You should be sick more often," Elise told Karen. "This is good stuff."
"Really?" Phoebe said excitedly. "It is? Yay, Karen."
Karen smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," said Elise as she walked out of the office.
"We did it," said Phoebe. "I mean, we did it. Yay, we."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Back at the Manor Willow and Tara were cleaning up the potion, they had no idea how it even spilled. Nor did they know what was happening upstairs in the attic, where Paige knelt on the floor, frightened.
"Paige," Cole said as he threw a fireball. "What's the matter? Are you okay?"
"How did you do that?" asked Paige.
"Do what?" he asked.
"Just admit it, you're a demon, just tell the truth," said Paige.
"Paige, I can't believe you'd even think that," Cole told her. "You're the one who's acting strange. If you keep this up, you're going to hurt yourself."
"Stay away from me!" Paige said as Cole walked toward her. She crawled toward the corner. "I'm going to tell Phoebe."
"Oh, come on," said Cole. "You don't really think your sisters would leave me alone with you if I was evil?"
"Stay away from me," she told him, shaking in fear.
"You really think Phoebe would've married me if I was a demon?" said Cole as fire images showed in his eyes. It was then that his cell phone rang. He answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey," said Phoebe. "Did you say something about a honeymoon suite for tonight?"
"Does that mean you found Karen?" Cole asked.
"Yes. We found her, we saved her, we even saved her job. She's fine. The only thing is she doesn't remember anything that happened today."
Cole smiled. "Perfect."
"What?" said Phoebe.
"Well, that means she can't expose you guys as witches," Cole explained. "You know what? If we hurry, we can still make late check in."
"Oh, but I don't have anything to wear."
"I can pack for you. I know what I like," said Cole.
"I bet you do. Okay, I'll meet you there," said Phoebe.
"Hey, wait-wait-wait. Why don't you tell Leo and Piper to orb straight to Hawaii, don't even bother packing?" said Cole. "You never know when the next demon's going to attack. In fact, suggest to Buffy, she should go out with Willow and Tara instead of staying home tonight."
"I'll tell them," said Phoebe. "You just hurry. Bye."
Cole ended the call just as Paige ran toward him. Flame suddenly surround him causing Paige to come to a stop as the flames disappear.
"Stop it," Paige cried. "Why are you doing this?"
"What's the matter?" Cole asked. "Seeing things?" He turned and left the attic.
Paige started throwing things around the room. She threw her hands out and she zapped a dollhouse. She looked at her hands and as she sat down, she cried.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy stopped the car. "It's been a long day," she said.
Tara nodded, "Yes it has," she agreed.
"Since we decided to take Cole up on his suggestion, I thought we could enjoy a moonlit stroll on the beach," suggested Buffy.
Tara and Willow smiled at Buffy. "Sounds wonderful," they agreed.
They got out of the car and Willow got Dawn out of her car seat and then she and Tara started toward the beach. Buffy walked to the trunk and opened it, she pulled out a picnic basket and then followed her wives and daughter.
"When did you put together a picnic basket?" asked Tara.
"While you two were getting Dawn," answered Buffy as she lay a blanket on the ground as close to the water as she could get. Without them getting too wet. Willow and Tara sat down watching the ripply silver path the moon was making across the waters.
Buffy sat down and opened the basket smiling. "This is perfect," she admitted. "A nice little family outing with my lovely wives and our daughter."
Tara and Willow couldn't agree more.
It was at that moment that the Buffy's cell phone rang. Buffy looked at the caller ID which read: Piper.
"Piper?" said Buffy as she accepted the call.
"Do you have any of that potion we used on Karen?" asked Piper.
"I don't, why?" said Buffy.
"Paige has somehow gotten infected."
"Okay," said Buffy. "Tara, Willow and I are on our way home. We will meet you there."
"What's up?" asked Tara as they hurried back to the car.
"Paige has been infected," said Buffy. "Was there more potion at home?"
"No," said Willow. "We found it spilled all over the floor."
"That took hours to make," said Tara with a sigh. "Paige may not last that long, depending on how long she's been infected."
"How did we not notice?" Willow wondered.
When they got back to the Manor they overheard Phoebe in the living room saying, "Leo, she's burning up."
"I tried to heal her, I can't," he admitted as Buffy and Willow joined them. They could hear Tara heading up the stairs likely to put Dawn in her crib.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?" asked Piper. "Just stand here and watch her die?"
"Oh, no, no, no, no," said Phoebe as she glanced toward Buffy. "This can't be happening. Not again."
"There is a way," Cole said. "We need to find a power broker to pull it out of her."
"Piper blew him up," said Buffy.
"There are others," Cole said as he looked toward Leo. "You'll have to orb me underground."
"We'll all go," suggested Willow.
"No, it's too dangerous. You never know what kind of powers they might have," said Cole. "Besides, your powers might not work too well down there."
"Cole, you don't have any powers," Phoebe reminded her husband.
"Cole, there's no time to argue, we're going," said Piper.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In the Underworld three power brokers are sat around a table swapping powers while Leo and Cole peek around the corner.
"What are they doing?" Leo asked.
"Trading powers," said Cole.
"So, what do we do?" wondered Leo.
Cole shrugged. "I don't know," he said as Buffy, Willow, Piper and Phoebe walked around the corner.
"We barge in. Get Paige," said Piper.
"Wait, wait, wait," Cole said as the girls walked toward the power brokers.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I think one of you may have misplaced a power," said Buffy.
"I'll get her, you get ready to orb them out of here," said Cole.
"Who are you?" asked one of the power brokers.
"We're the Charmed Ones," answered Piper. "And one of you jack asses infected our sister."
"It's going to be pretty hard to tell which jack ass though, huh," admitted Phoebe.
"So, here's the deal," Piper said as Cole carried Paige toward them. "We'll spare your lives if you pull your skanky little power out of her."
"Since the introduction of the fourth sister," said one of the power brokers. "The power of the Charmed Ones lies in the power of four. You're one witch down."
"Um, you sure you want to test that theory?" suggested Willow as he threw a lightning bolt which missed them.
"Too bad. You lose," Piper said as she tried to blow the power broker up.
"Told you about your powers down here," said Cole.
"Let's get out of here," Leo suggested.
"Keep in mind that that was just a warning. Next time I'll use full force," warned Piper.
"Forgive us," said one of the power brokers as he and one of the others suddenly knelt down after seeing Cole's eyes turn momentarily black. "We'll do whatever you ask."
"See, that's more like it, right there," said Phoebe.
"What the hell are you two doing?" asked the power broker who remained standing. One of the others threw an energy ball at him vanquishing him.
"What are you waiting for?" Buffy asked.
The power brokers stood and remove the power from Paige, who woke as Cole set her down on her feet.
"Where am I?" asked Paige clearly confused.
Phoebe smiled at her baby sister. "You're going to be okay, sweetie."
"Now can we get out of here?" Leo asked.
"Wait," Piper said as she blew up all the power balls on the table. "I had enough power to do that, eh?"
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The next night at P3; Willow, Buffy, Piper and Phoebe sat in the owner's alcove as Paige walked up to them.
"I can't believe I destroyed the house," said Paige as she sat down.
"What I can't believe is what you almost saw in the hotel room," said Phoebe. "If you had gotten there five minutes earlier..."
"Lalala!" said Piper as Karen approached them. "Over sharing."
"Hey, Karen!" said Phoebe.
"Oh, I'd hope I'd find you here," admitted Karen.
"Do we know her?" Paige asked.
"Oh, your memory really is shot," said Willow.
"Um, you told fearful Merrin to get a dog," said Karen.
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, oh, I know, I know, it seemed right at the time, you know, so she didn't have to..."
"I would've told her to get a therapist and a life," Karen admitted.
"See, this is what I said," agreed Piper.
Karen smiled. "Hers was better."
"Really?" asked Phoebe.
Karen nodded. "It was proactive, it was non-judgmental. The whole column had a freshness and a passion that it hasn't had for a really long time."
Phoebe smiled. "Thank you."
"And I'm going to tell Elise that you wrote it," Karen admitted.
"Oh, no, Karen, don't do that. I mean, she'll fire you then," said Phoebe suddenly worried for Karen.
"And my guess is she'll hire you," Karen explained. "If you think you can handle working for that witch."
"Hm, I thought of her as more of a demon," Buffy said with a small laugh.
"Well, either, I hate her," Karen admitted. "And even though I'm not sure what happened today, I just feel like I want to spend more time at home with my kid. So, I want to say thanks, for everything." She turned and walked away.
"That is very sweet," said Willow as Phoebe nodded in agreement.
"What just happened there?" Paige wondered.
"I think Phoebe just got a job," Piper said.
Phoebe laughed. "I can't. Can I?"
"Phoebe, somebody is going to pay you to tell other people what to do. Shut up and be happy," said Piper as they picked up their drinks. "To Phoebe. May you never give any lethal advice."
"And to Piper, may you actually get to go on your honeymoon tomorrow," said Paige.
"And to Paige..." said Buffy.
"…may I never try to kill any of you again," finished Paige.
Piper smiled. "You're not really a Halliwell until you've gone demonic on your sisters at least twice."
"Or more," said Buffy.
"Actually, she didn't go demonic on us, she went demonic on Cole," Phoebe reminded her sisters and Willow.
"You say tomato, and I say..." Piper said.
"Karen already hated Elise," explained Phoebe. "That's why Elise became the object of Karen's demonic rage. Which also means that you already hated Cole."
"No, I don't hate Cole, Phoebe," admitted Paige. "I just don't trust him. I don't know why I feel that way, I just, I don't. I'm sorry."
"Yeah. So am I," Phoebe said as she got up and walked away. Piper, Buffy and Willow stood up and followed her.