Chapter 3

Andy orbed back to the manor, after dropping Jarod off in a undisclosed location. Phoebe was sitting in the living room, working on her lap top. She looked over her glasses at him.

'You get Jarod off safely?'

Andy nodded quickly.

'Yeah, where is Piper?'

'In the kitchen. She's going to cook a special meal for Paige's new boyfriend. He's coming over for dinner tonight.'

Andy turned and walked into the hallway.

'Piper! I need for you to come into the living-room...now!'

Piper hurried in, wiping her hands on an apron.

'What? Is it Jarod? Did something go wrong?'

Andy walked over to her, then steered her towards the sofa. Phoebe, who had saved her work on her laptop, walked over to the sofa and sat down next to her.

'What's wrong?' Phoebe asked.

'Maybe we should call Paige at work?' Piper suggested, looking towards the phone.

'No!' Andy cried, louder than he meant to. Piper and Phoebe looked at one another. Piper then stood up and walked over to him. She rubbed his shoulder.

'Just tell us. We deal with bad news on a daily basis.'

But Phoebe eyed him.

'Jarod told you something, didn't he?'

Andy took a deep breath.

'Jarod, is a future Whitelighter. He has this inner sense of those who need help, and he provides it. He doesn't just run from town to town, to escape The Center.'

Piper's hand dropped from Andy's shoulder.

'So, Jarod was here to help someone, right? And now it's up to us to protect his innocent, is that it?'

'Piper, Jarod thought that you all were the ones that needed help.' Andy said grimly.

Phoebe burst out laughing! Piper smiled.

'Jarod was so sweet...and yes, we do need help usually, but there was nothing he could do...'

'Piper, Phoebe, Jarod was here because he recognized Paige's boyfriend as someone that he knew to be dead. Same name and everything!'

Piper looked at Phoebe and then just threw her hands up!

Phoebe stood up.

'Jarod was sure?' she asked.

'Oh yeah! I checked it out before I came back here. Damien Ross died a year ago, when an oil tanker he was working on, blew up. This guy that Paige is dating, is either his twin brother or...'

'Or,' Piper finished, 'we're dealing with some sort of demon. God! I knew there was something about that guy I didn't like!'

Phoebe rolled her eyes!

'Oh right! You say that after the fact!'

But Piper pointed at her.

'No! It bothered me that Paige was getting so hot and heavy with someone she barely knew! I mean, she knows nothing about where he's from, what his background is or anything! And try and ask her any of that, and she acts as if it's not important or something! God, that girl!'

'Piper, Paige is going to be devastated enough when she finds out. Cut her some slack, okay?' Andy asked.

'Andy, this is not about my trying to mean or right! But we have all learned that we have to be careful of the people we invite in our lives. Phoebe especially knows what I mean, don't you Phoebes?'

Phoebe gave Piper a dirty look.

'You know, I tried to change Cole and couldn't. I don't see why he has to be thrown up in my face, whenever someone makes a similar mistake! And we don't know anything yet.'

Andy stood in between the sisters.

'Okay, okay. Look, our main concern here has to be Paige. Let me go up and see what the Elders know, you girls look in the Book of Shadows for demons that take over dead people or something.'

Andy orbed out of there. Piper looked at Phoebe.

'I wasn't trying to throw Cole up in your face, Phoebe. But I'd be lying, if I said I wasn't worried that Paige was about ready to make a similar mistake.'

Phoebe scratched her face, then walked over to the fireplace. She then turned back to look at Piper.

'Paige won't make the same mistake. She won't because she's not in love with this guy.'

Piper raised a brow.

'She's told you this?'

'Yes, and no.'

'Phoebe! What the hell does that mean?'

Phoebe just decided to come out with her suspicions.

'I think Andy and Paige have feelings for one another. Feelings that they are both trying to deny.'

Piper just stared at her for the longest moment. Then, she burst out laughing!

'What???' Phoebe asked.

'Andy and Paige? No, no, no, no, no.'

'Piper...'

'No, Phoebe. Andy loves Prue. And she's who he wants to be with, wherever she is. I can't see him falling for someone else, especially someone that he's only known for such a short time.'

Phoebe folded her arms, regarding her sister for a moment.

'Piper, does the idea of Andy and Paige upset you?'

'No, because there is no Andy and Paige. I haven't seen this 'secret chemistry' you've been seeing between them. And Paige has been going out every night to be with Damien. So, I'm not seeing this love connection, and I think this is just 'Ask Phoebe' talking here!'

Phoebe quietly gasped.

'It does bother you, doesn't it?'

Piper smoothed some of her hair back.

'I'm going to go look in the Book. Call Paige and warn her. Let's get this guy/demon over for dinner and vanquish him, okay? Good.'

Piper then turned and walked out of the room. Phoebe watched as she took the stairs, two at a time. Phoebe scratched her head, then picked up her cell phone.

****

Paige giggled, when Damien pulled her into the supply closet. They were kissing, hot and heavy, when her cell phone rang. She broke off Damien's kisses, to fumble in her blazer pocket, where she always kept her phone.

Paige was about to answer it, when Damien snatched it from her, and began kissing her again. She surrendered to him a few moments more, before coming up for air again.

'Damien, this could be really important...' she murmured, half attempting to get the phone away from him.

But Damien held it out of her reach.

'Let's go back to my place, right now, Paige.'

Paige's eyes widened! They had not yet slept together, not for Damien's not wanting to. And usually Paige was not such a prude about such matters. But Andy...just thinking about him, stopped her from giving her all to Damien.

'Now?' she whispered, eyeing the door.

'Yeah, why not?' he asked, stroking her cheek.

'Well, it's just that...I'm on call here and you have patients...you also have Jarod's patient load...'

'Now that he's run off? I don't think I've ever heard of a doctor quitting over his lunch break.'

'Well, he was in a hurry.' Paige said weakly.

Damien stared at her hard.

'So he told you. Come on now, Paige. Please, come back to my apartment with me. We can spend the afternoon in more pleasurable ways, than looking at death and disease. Please? Pretty please?'

Paige smiled, and hit his shoulder.

'Okay, okay! When you put it like that, okay! But let's be careful sneaking out of this closet, okay, because I...'

But Damien grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the closet! Everyone in the hallway stared at them! Paige was mortified.

'Damien!' she squeaked.

But he pulled her out of the closet, and towards the front doors. He couldn't afford to waste anymore time. And besides, neither one of them was ever coming back to this place anyway.

****

One hour later, Phoebe was worried sick! She had tried calling Paige's cell phone repeatedly, and got no answer. She finally called the ER, where someone told her that Paige had left with Dr. Ross.

Piper was still upstairs, supposedly looking through the book. Phoebe doubted that though. It didn't take that long. She suspected that Piper just didn't want to hear anymore about Andy and Paige.

Phoebe decided to try Paige's cell one more time, before she began scrolling for her younger sibling.

This time, someone picked up.

'Hello?' Phoebe said.

'Hello. You're Paige's sister, Phoebe, right?'

Phoebe rubbed the back of her neck. She recognized Damien's voice by his distinctive British accent.

'Uh, yes, Damien, hello. Is Paige there?'

'Yes, but she's asleep.'

'Oh.' Phoebe said, her stomach dropping. Good God! Paige had slept with some demon! God, who was she to talk?!

'Well, I haven't been able to reach her all day. I was just worried, but if she's with you then she's alright.'

'Of course she is,' Damien said, as he morphed into his true persona, of Cole Turner, a.k.a Belthezor, 'being with me is the safest place Paige can be. You remember that, don't you Phoebe?' he asked in his own voice.

Phoebe dropped her phone to the floor in shock. Cole hung up on his end, then leaned back against his pillow. He then propped himself up on one pillow, and watched a naked Paige, sleep.

She was a bit wilder in bed, than Phoebe was, Cole thought. He didn't know what to make of that, only that for some reason, it surprised him. Not that it really mattered. For soon, Phoebe and Piper would arrive here, ready to do battle, once again.

He had decided, when that other former, weasly Whitelighter of the Charmed Ones, Chris, had read his vanquishing spell backwards, thus, unvanquishing him, that this time, he was going to get back at Phoebe, through one of her sisters.

Piper was out. Because she obviously still loved Leo, and the fact that Cole had never found her particularly appealing.

But Paige, who he had never cared for anyway, was perfect. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

All Cole had to decide now, was should he wake Paige up and reveal himself to her now? Or, should he just let her awake on her own and discover that she had just had sex with him? Or, better yet, should he let precious Paige awake, and find herself in bed with Belthezor?

He smiled, still propped up on one elbow. He then began rubbing his fingers down her back. Cole had decided he couldn't wait for her to wake up on her own.