Note- I wasn't sure if Roger was ever given a last name in the series. If he was, I don't know it, so I just made one up.
Chapter Five- Dinner with the Family
The witch had been no match for Belthazor and had been easy to kill, so Cole was actually a little early to pick Phoebe up.
"Cole," she said when she answered the door, "you're early."
"Yeah, I got finished with the last bit of work I had to do quicker than I thought." Cole told her.
Phoebe smiled. "Well, I'm just about ready. Why don't you come in."
Cole did so and followed her into the kitchen.
"If you didn't have anything specific planned, I thought we could have a picnic." Phoebe told him, motioning to the basket sitting on the counter.
"No, that sounds good." Cole answered.
Phoebe smiled. "Wonderful. How about the park?"
She put some stuff in the basket, then closed it.
"Great." Cole told her. "All done?"
"Yep, let's go."
Cole picked up the basket and the two of them walked out to his car. Their drive to the park was filled with light conversation, as was their picnic.
After they had eaten and were packing up, Phoebe frowned. "Oh, I nearly forgot."
"Forgot what?" Cole asked with an indulgent smile.
"Grams wanted me to invite you to dinner tomorrow, are you free?" Phoebe asked. "I mean, you don't have to say yes. But, she'd like to get to know you better."
"I understand." Cole told her.
And he did. Though, the idea didn't thrill him, he knew that if he was going to have a relationship with Phoebe then he'd have to put up with her family. He knew that though she didn't say it, she really wanted him to come to dinner.
"Of course I'm free." He said after a moment. "What time?"
"About seven." Phoebe told him. "It'll be me, you, my sisters, Grams, maybe Roger..." She made a face as she said the last name.
"Roger?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Prue's fiance." Phoebe said with distaste.
"You don't like him." Cole remarked.
"No." Phoebe told him. "He's a jerk. I don't get what Prue sees in him or why she always believes him..."
"What do you mean?" Cole asked gently.
Phoebe paused from folding up the picnic blanket. "I mean that for the last year Roger's been making passes at me and then when I turn him down, going to Prue and telling her it's the other way around. And of course, she believes him. Not me."
"I'm sorry." Cole told her, because he didn't know what else to say.
He didn't understand why Prue would believe her boyfriend over her sister, but then... Mortals were complicated. And more than that, they were often foolish.
Phoebe sighed and resumed her folding. "It's alright. I mean, I kind of deserve it. After all, I've screwed up a lot, no wonder she doesn't have faith in me. Still, it would be nice if for once she wouldn't believe the worst."
"Have things always been awkward between the two of yous?" Cole asked as she finished packing up.
He had learned a lot about Phoebe in the last few weeks, but she rarely spoke of her relationship with her eldest sister, though it was clear that she and Piper were close.
"Pretty much." Phoebe told him, standing up. "She kind of appointed herself as a substitute when Mom died and because of that... She's never really been a big sister, she's been more parental. That was good for a while, then, as I got older, I resented it and I rebelled. Which led to a lot of arguments. Thus the current state of our relationship."
"Has she always been hard on you?" Cole asked as they walked to the car.
"Oh, yeah." Phoebe told him. "Probably because I remind of her Dad. To her, there's nothing worse."
"What do you think?" Cole asked. "About your father I mean?"
"I don't know." Phoebe said, as he started the car. "I don't know what to think. He left when I was a baby."
She sighed. "Do you mind if we change the subject? I was in such a good mood..."
"Of course not." Cole told her, knowing that this was not the time to press the question.
Though, he would definitely bring it up again. Maybe if he learned what made Phoebe tick, he'd learn why he was so intrigued by her.
* * * * *
"Roger, would you like to come over for dinner at the manor tomorrow night?" Prue asked her fiance as they left work together.
"Sure, what's the occasion?" Roger asked, though inwardly he was groaning.
Dinner with Prue's family was always interesting. He always got the feeling that both the grandmother and Piper disapproved of him, and then there was Phoebe...
He shook the thought away and focused on Prue.
She grimaced. "Phoebe's got a new boyfriend, believe it or not. A serious one."
Roger raised an eyebrow. He knew from Prue that Phoebe had never really had a serious relationship before, she flitted from guy to guy, always looking for a good time.
"Really?" Roger asked. "Dare I ask what this guy like? Though I'm sure I could guess."
"Actually, I doubt you could." Prue told him. "I mean, this guy is nothing like the guy's Phoebe usually goes for."
"Oh?"
"Do you remember that article about the up and comer at Thorn and Co.?" Prue asked suddenly.
"Yeah." Roger said slowly, confused by her sudden change of the subject. "Turner right? The new head of their San Francisco branch?"
"That's him." Prue confirmed. "He's Phoebe's new boyfriend."
Roger stared at her in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"
"I wish." Prue said with a snort. "I couldn't believe it the first time I met him."
"What in the world is he doing with your sister?" Roger asked. "I can't believe that she's the type a guy like that usually goes for."
"I agree." Prue said. "But... He certainly seems fond of her. They go out almost every night and when they don't, he calls her."
"He's probably just trying to seduce her." Roger stated, after all that was the only reason he could see anyone like that being interested in Phoebe.
She was definitely a pretty little thing with quite a body, but... She certainly wasn't the type that one chose to get involved with. At least not someone like himself, or Turner.
"I thought about that." Prue told him.
"But?" Roger prompted.
"If that was all he wanted, to get her into bed, he would have dumped her by now." Prue told him flatly. "No, I don't think that's it. But it still bugs me. He bugs me. I can't place it, but... There's something about him that doesn't seem right. I just wish Phoebe would listen, but you know her."
"I do." Roger repeated dryly.
Prue's sister was definitely a wild one...
* * * * *
The Next Evening
"Hey." Phoebe said with a smile as she let Cole into the manor.
"Hey." He replied, leaning down to kiss her.
"You ready for this?" She asked, not so sure that she was.
"I guess." Cole told her. "I'm not sure what to expect."
"Well, Prue will probably interrogate you, as will Grams, while Piper will try to place peacemaker." Phoebe informed him as she led him into the living room. "It'll be fine."
She didn't even believe her own words, but... It couldn't be that bad, could it?
"Grams, Piper, Prue, you know Cole." She said, conscious of the arm Cole had wrapped around her waist as she turned to Roger. "Cole, this is Prue's fiance, Roger Johnson. Roger, this is Cole Turner."
The two men exchanged nods of greeting.
Cole and Phoebe sat down.
"How did you two meet?" Roger asked.
Prue, who didn't know the answer, looked curious as well.
Phoebe sighed, aware that the answer was about to look bad.
To her surprise, Cole answered before she could.
"Fate." He said with a smile. "It was a beautiful day out, so I decided to walk to a business meeting. Phoebe had her mind on other things and ended up running into me on my way back. After she apologised, we began talking, and I ended up asking her for coffee. We hit it off, so we began to date."
Phoebe smiled. It was the truth, yet he made it sound better than she could have.
Prue looked surprised, but not completely disapproving.
While, Roger... Well, who cared what he thought?
After a few minutes, they stood for dinner.
"We'll join you in a minute." Phoebe told her family.
Prue rolled her eyes, but Piper smiled encouragingly, while Grams just nodded.
Once they were alone, Phoebe turned to Cole.
"You're doing wonderful." She told him gratefully.
Cole ran his finger across her lips gently. "I want to make this as painless for you possible. I mean, it's not the easiest situation for anyone one."
"No." Phoebe agreed. "But it's going pretty well, that's a good thing."
"It is." Cole agreed, kissing her softly.
Phoebe sighed when he pulled away. "We should go to dinner, everybody's waiting."
Cole nodded. "Lead the way."
* * * * *
Dinner hadn't been as difficult as Cole had feared, though there was something about the grandmother that bothered him. He couldn't place it, but there was something... He'd figure it out later.
Prue's fiance on the other hand... At least Cole know why he bugged him.
Cole was good at reading humans, it was a skill a lot of demon's possessed, and Roger was not one of the finer members of the human race. He was sleazy, selfish, and, cowardly.
While Cole admired people who were only out to serve themselves, after all that was his code of living, he despised cowards. If you were going to be self-serving, good, but at least have the guts to carry through. Don't just do what was good, as long as you didn't get in trouble.
Cole hated people like that even more than he hated people who were innately good.
Also this guy's behaviour sickened Cole.
From what Cole could make out from watching him at dinner and from the few comments he made. Roger had ever intention on marrying Prue, but he also wouldn't mind having her sister on the side.
Since Phoebe apparently had made it clear numerous times that she wasn't interested, he intended to make her look bad by playing on the problems between the two sisters and pushing them further apart.
Now, Cole had no problems using people, he did it all the time, but he did have an issue with fidelity. Surprisingly, a lot of the demons he knew did. Probably because they tended to be possessive.
That was why Cole avoided long-term relationships for the most part, especially with mortals. He had found out over the years, that faithfulness was a virtue that most mortals were lacking. Roger just seemed to be proof of that.
But that wasn't the only thing about him that disgusted Cole. The fact that he kept trying to get Phoebe into bed despite the fact that she kept refusing and the fact that since she wouldn't, he had decided to make her life miserable, didn't win any points in his book either.
Cole never pursued women who made it clear they weren't interested. He didn't have to, there was plenty of willing ones around. Nor had Cole ever punished a woman for not sleeping with him.
Cole sighed. As evil as he was, sometimes even he was amazed by the mortal race. They weren't evil, per say, just completely lacking in morals and even basic decency.
It made him wonder why the Powers that Be and the forces of Good kept on trying to save them. If you asked him, they weren't worth the trouble.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Roger asked, snapping Cole out of his thoughts.
Cole turned and looked at the other man. Dinner was over and they were all in the Halliwell's living room, exchanging small talk.
Cole sighed, then nodded. He followed the other man out to the hall.
"I just wanted to give you some advice." Roger told him in a 'just between us' kind of one. "About Phoebe. She's cute and what a body... But other than that, she's not worth your time. I mean she's certainly not the relationship type. She prefers... variety, if you know what I mean."
Cole stayed silent, unable to believe the nerve of this man.
Roger continued. "She's put the moves on me several times, even though I'm dating her sister, so-"
He never got to finish what he was going to say, because Cole grabbed him suddenly.
"I wouldn't tell lies like that about, Phoebe, if I were you." He advised coldly, his eyes dark with rage. "And we both know that's what it is. A lie. Here's what I think. You've put the moves on Phoebe despite the fact that you're involved with her sister, she keeps turning you down, and since that wounds your pride you make it your mission to make her miserable by spreading lies. Am I right?"
Roger didn't answer, but Cole could see the fear in his eyes.
"Why do you care?" Roger asked. "I mean, you can't honestly care about that little slut-"
His words were cut off by Cole tightening his grip on him.
"I wouldn't call her that if I were you." Cole said dangerously.
Roger blanched.
Cole smiled without humour and let go of him.
Roger stepped back and fell to the ground.
"I'll give you a warning though." Cole said in a level voice. "If you ever speak like that about Phoebe again, or if I hear about you spreading any more lies about her, I swear I will make you regret it."
With that, he turned and walked back into the living room. He made his way back to Phoebe. He stood behind the couch, and placed his hands on her shoulders.
She looked up at him. "Hey. Where's Roger?"
"He'll be here in a minute." Cole told her in a low voice. "I'm sure he's just picking himself off the floor."
"What?" Phoebe asked, obviously startled.
"Don't worry, I didn't hurt him." Cole told her. "He just said some things I didn't like and I gave him a warning."
Phoebe seemed to understand, because she didn't say anything.
Just then, Roger reentered the room. To Cole's amusement, he made sure to stay far away from both him and Phoebe.
"Looks like whatever you said did the trick." Phoebe told him.
"Are you mad at me?" Cole asked.
"No." She told him. "Actually, I'm grateful. Maybe now he'll leave me alone."
"I'd count on it." Cole told her, then he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Do you think your family would mind if we snuck out and took a walk?"
"Maybe." Phoebe said with a smile. "But who cares?"
Cole grinned as she stood up and offered her hand. "Let's go."
* * * * *
