In the solarium, ten wicker chairs formed an irregular circle around two small tables, on top of which rested some beer bottles, a jar of iced tea and several glasses. Since Ben had made it clear that staying in the playpen wasn't in his plans, Cole had brought the colorful rug that Piper had hooked for her nephew and spread it on the floor, next to his own chair. Ben was now sitting there, absorbed in the fascinating game of throwing some wood blocks into a box, turning the box upside down so that its contents would fall to the floor, and then starting all over again.

Once she was sure that everyone was comfortable and had something to drink, Piper turned to Willow again and asked, straightforwardly:

"Are you a witch?"

"Uh, yes," Willow said, dumbfounded. "How did you know?"

"Back in the foyer," Piper said, "I was able to freeze everyone but you."

Willow gave her a puzzled look and she explained:

"Good witches don't freeze."

She gave Willow a curious look and added:

"Anya and Xander never mentioned that you're a witch."

"Oh," Willow said, looking embarrassed. "Probably because I, I can't use magic any more."

"Why?" Phoebe asked. "What happened to your powers?"

"Nothing happened," Willow said, staring at her feet. "The powers are not the problem: I am."

"That's not true, Will," Xander said, reaching out and stroking her arm.

"Yes, it is," she said quietly.

She took a deep breath and straightened up to face the others again.

"I can't use magic because I let it take over me. There was a time when I only used magic to deal with magical situations -- and that was how it was supposed to be. But, at some point, I started to use it for trivial things like finding the car keys or making my bed. And, eventually, I lost control completely: it became an addiction, and I needed the power, more and more power, no matter what the cost, white magic or dark magic, and I became a danger to myself and others."

Her voice trailed off and she lowered her eyes to the glass of iced tea in her hand, avoiding eye contact with the others.

"Sweetie, that's horrible," Piper said, softly.

"Will you ever be able to use magic again?" Paige asked.

"I guess not," Willow said with an embarrassed shrug.

"I didn't know such a thing was possible," Cole said, frowning. Leo saw him shift on his seat, uneasy, and even though he, too, felt sorry for Willow, he had to bite back a smile because it seemed that the young witch's first hand testimony had succeeded where Leo's words of advice had failed.

"Well," Leo explained, "it's possible, but it's not really usual. That's why Whiteligthers don't mention this possibility, specially when a witch is still in the process of dealing with their newly found destiny: it could freak them out and end up doing more harm than good. What they do is keep a close eye on their charges, so that they can intervene if things seem to be getting out of control."

"Well, it seems to me that Willow's Whitelighter failed in this particular instance," Phoebe said, frowning.

"I don't have a Whitelighter," Willow said. "Should I have one?" she asked Leo.

"Well," Leo pondered, "you being so close to the Slayer, who has a Watcher, the Elders and the Council must have..."

"The Council?" Paige asked, cutting him off.

"The Council of Watchers," Leo explained. "They must have decided..."

"Are the Elders subordinated to the Council, or is it the other way around?" Phoebe asked, curious.

"Different jurisdictions," Leo said. "Anyway..."

"But Giles -- my Watcher -- has returned to England," Buffy said. "Now there's no one there to help Willow."

"Well," Leo sighed, with the half smile of a man who had learned long ago not to fight his charges' seemingly erratic and methodless patterns of learning, "I can't tell you why they haven't assigned Willow a Whitelighter yet, or even if they indeed haven't assigned her one: for all I know, they might have already done that. But I'll talk to them," he added, "tell them that your Watcher is no longer around, and that Willow could use some help."

"Thanks," Willow said with a smile. "If I have a Whitelighter," she asked, giving Leo a curious look, "will he be a dead person, too? I mean, you're dead, aren't you? Anya said that you are."

"Yes," Leo said, nodding. "All Whitelighters are."

The eyes of Buffy, Willow and Dawn promptly turned towards Piper's belly, and Leo fidgeted in his seat, blushing slightly. Why was everyone so interested in that? He knew that even other Whitelighters wondered how a man who had been dead for sixty years could have gotten his wife pregnant.

"The next person who asks me that is going to receive a rather blunt answer," Leo thought grouchily.

"So," Piper said to Buffy, sensing her husband's discomfort and trying to change the subject, "you're a Slayer. Cole said that there's only one Slayer in the whole world."

"That's right," Buffy said, nodding. "Into each generation, one girl is born with the strength and skill to hunt vampires. What were the odds, huh?" she quipped humorlessly. "Lucky me."

"Does a Slayer have any magical powers?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm strong," Buffy said simply, shrugging.

Phoebe raised an eyebrow and Xander added:

"Really, really strong. Supernaturally strong."

"And that's all?" Piper said, frowning. "I mean, no offense, Buffy, strong is good, but... did the High Powers just give you this, uh, superstrength, put a wood stake in your hand and say 'you're the Slayer, go kill some vampires now, good luck'?"

"Yeah, that was pretty much it," Buffy said, nodding. She thought a little, then added: "Well, except for the 'good luck' part: they never really wished me good luck."

"Honey, how old are you?" Piper asked.

"Twenty one."

"And you've been the Slayer for...?"

"Six years."

Piper drew a sharp intake of breath.

"Fifteen?? You were fifteen and they sent you out after vampires?"

She didn't wait for Buffy's answer as she exclaimed to no one in particular:

"That's outrageous! That's just... just... Oh!" -- she threw her hands up in indignation, letting out an exclamation of anger.

"Don't take me wrong," she added, softening as she turned to Buffy again, "I'm sure that you're capable of doing the job, or you wouldn't have lasted six years, in the first place. I can see that you're a tough girl, but that's exactly my point: no one should have to be that tough at the age of fifteen!"

"Honey..." Leo said gently, placing his hand on her arm.

"Leo, she's so young!" Piper exclaimed, turning to him. "It's not fair," she sighed.

She reached out to refill Buffy's glass, studying the girl's features as she handed the glass back to her. If one looked beyond her slim build and the blond hair that fell in soft golden waves around her face, they'd see the taunt body and the somewhat feline alertness that made the Slayer different from others girls her age. Yet, if you looked even further, beyond that, too, you'd see a girl just like other girls her age, struggling to find her place in the world of the grown ups and figure out where she fitted in, and sometimes wondering if she fitted in at all. A girl who, right now, looked more than happy to just relax and have someone else worry about her and be in charge for a change.

"I'd really like to give those Watchers a piece of my mind," Piper muttered, frowning.

"I have the number of the Council, in London," Buffy said, perking up.

"If you're gonna call them, can I listen on the extension?" Willow asked, excited.

"We could..." Dawn started to say, but Leo quickly held up his hands.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "No one's calling the Council."

Piper opened her mouth to reply, but he said, pointing at her:

"Especially not you. I don't even wanna think of what you'd say to them, and of what the Elders would say to me after the Council reported you."

"I know... Sorry," Piper sighed. "Sorry for my outburst," she said to Buffy and her friends. "I'm due in two weeks," she explained with a sheepish smile, "and I guess that's bringing out the mother hen in me."

"Yeah, because usually Piper is so not the mother hen!" Paige said, making Cole and Phoebe giggle.

Piper mock glared at her, but before she could retort, they heard the doorbell ring.

"Are we expecting someone else?" Phoebe said, surprised.

"Not that I know," Piper said.

"Well," Leo said, standing up, "I'll see who it is."

He started to walk out of the room, then stopped at the doorway, turned around and said, pointing at Piper:

"Don't call anyone while I'm not here."

Piper smirked, rolling her eyes at him and he blew her a kiss before leaving the room.

"So," Phoebe said, turning to Buffy, "this bad luck of yours?..."

"Right," Buffy said. "You see, I'm not sure if it's actually supernatural, but the fact is, for the last week or so, everything has gone wrong with me. I've been bumping into people, dropping things, losing buttons, getting splashed by cars at an alarming rate. An ATM ate my bankcard last Thursday, and another one ate my credit card on Friday. The cable company has wrongly disconnected me, the dry cleaner ruined my best jacket and cashiers always run out of change when it's my turn in line."

"Tough," Paige said sympathetically.

"And dangerous," Willow added. "A Slayer's bad luck can come in the form of a very lucky vampire."

"It doesn't sound like the work of a Darklighter, though," Cole said.

"My thoughts exactly," Phoebe said, nodding. "But it can still be supernatural," she reasoned.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, Leo was standing at the front door, looking at the guy who had rung the doorbell, and who was now standing on the doorsteps with his hands tucked in his jacket's pockets.

"I'm looking for Buffy Summers," the newcomer said. "I was caught in the traffic and couldn't make it to the hotel in time to meet her there, so she told me to come straight to here."

Leo hesitated: Xander and Anya hadn't mentioned anyone besides Buffy, Willow and Dawn. Yet, the man before him made no move to force his way into the house: he was just standing politely there, the pleasant smile on his lips making Leo feel a little silly for not letting him in. After all, if the guy was a demon, he wouldn't need an invitation to shimmer in; if he was human -- evil human -- they'd be more than able to deal with him; and if he was an innocent, then Leo would be just being rude by leaving him out in the cold.

"Buffy's inside," he finally said, returning the stranger's smile and stepping out of the way. "Come on in. I'm Leo."

"Thank you," the newcomer said, grinning as he crossed the doorway. He held out his hand and added: "I'm Spike."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Nedolya?" Cole offered. He and Anya were going through all the bad luck bringers they knew, trying to figure out who might be behind Buffy's run of bad luck.

"Nah," Anya said. "Nedolya hides in people's kitchens; I've already checked Buffy's kitchen, and she's not there. I was thinking, maybe Chernobog?"

"No way," Cole said, shaking his head. "Chernobog wouldn't waste time messing with the cable company or the dry cleaner. If he was after Buffy, hell would've broken loose in Sunnydale. What about a..."

"Hey, luv."

All heads swirled towards the source of the voice that carried a strong British accent: the man standing at the doorway by Leo's side had platinum hair and piercing blue eyes; he wore dark jeans and a black leather jacket over a black T-shirt, and was looking at Buffy with a small cocky smile on his lips.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy hissed, glaring at him.

"I was in the neighborhood," he said, swaggering confidently towards her. "Thought I'd stop by to see you."

"But you said..." Leo started to say, frowning.

"I lied, angel boy," Spike said, half looking back over his shoulder.

Leo's eyebrows shot up and Spike added with a sneer:

"You Whitelighters are so obvious..."

Buffy had stood up, and Spike was standing right before her when he opened his mouth to say something else. He never did, though, because Piper raised her hands and froze him.

"Alright, what's going on here?" she demanded.

"Just another shinning example of Buffy's bad luck," Xander said, glaring at Spike. "How on Earth did he manage to follow us all the way from Sunnydale?"

"Beats me..." Buffy said. She sighed heavily, scowling at the frozen figure.

"Should we throw him out?" Phoebe asked.

"That's not necessary," Buffy sighed. "We'll take him with us when we leave. He's no harm, he's just... annoying."

"Do you want me to keep him frozen?" Piper offered.

"Now, this idea has a certain appeal," Buffy said with a smirk.

In the meantime, Ben had stood up and circled the table, walking towards Spike with an intrigued look on his face.

"Hi!" he called as he patted Spike's calf vigorously.

"Ben, don't!" Phoebe said, promptly standing up and walking towards him.

She scooped Ben up and said, turning to Piper:

"You'd better unfreeze him: I don't want Ben to think that freezing the guests is a fun game."

Piper nodded and unfroze Spike, whose grin promptly faded when he noticed that Buffy was no longer before him.

"What the.."

"Hi-hi!" Ben exclaimed, waving happily at him, and Spike turned towards Phoebe with a start, noticing the toddler for the first time.

The appraising grin he gave Phoebe was replaced by a slightly perplexed expression as he looked from her to Ben, and then back at her, like a man who feels that something is out of place, but can't quite put his finger on it.

"Spike," Buffy said, grabbing him by the elbow and cutting him off his musings, "take a seat and be quiet while they try to do their job, okay?"

"Sure, luv," he said, taking a chair and placing it next to hers. Willing as he was to comply with the part about taking a seat, though, the same couldn't be said for the part about being quiet. "So, that one" -- he pointed at Leo -- "is a Whitelighter, but what about the others?" -- his eyes went from Phoebe to Piper, stopped briefly at Cole, who was watching him intently, too, and finally fell on Paige, giving her a curious look.

"What about you?" Piper asked, frowning. "What are you?"

Instead of answering, Spike turned to Buffy, tilting his head to the side as he gave her an inquisitive look.

"They know I'm the Slayer," she told him. She hesitated, then added: "And that's why I think they're gonna be more than a little surprised to know that you're a vampire."

"What?!?" five voices exclaimed in unison, and Buffy held up her hands.

"I told you, he's harmless," she said.

"Hey!" Spike protested.

"Well, you are," Buffy said, shrugging. "To humans, you are."

Turning to the others again, she explained:

"I can't give you details, because it involves this big, secret, non magical organization which I'm not supposed to talk about, but the fact is, there's a behavior modification chip implanted in Spike's brain that prevents him from hurting humans."

She saw the look on their faces and added:

"I know it sounds weird, but it's true. As long as the chip is there -- and only the people who put it there can remove it -- he can't do any harm to a human being. Actually," she added, unwillingly, "Spike has been fighting on our side for some time now."

"Okay..." Phoebe said, warily. She didn't let Ben go back to the floor though, keeping him in her arms as she sat by Cole's side again.

"So," Spike said, leaning back on his chair and watching the girls. "I'm a vampire. What are you... besides not being vampires?" he asked, albeit glancing curiously at Paige.

Paige shifted on her seat, uncomfortably aware of the fact that she had been a vampire once, even if for a few hours only, and Piper reached out and stroked her arm before saying, giving Spike a cold look:

"Besides not being vampires, we're witches. And we can do more than just freeze you, so I suggest you watch your behavior while you're here."

"Right," Spike muttered, nonchalantly, while he reached out for Buffy's empty glass, looked at the ice cubes inside it and decided to drink his beer straight from the bottle.

"So, Buffy," Phoebe said, "about your bad luck..."

"So, you've finally decided to do something about that?" Spike said, turning to Buffy, and there was something in his voice, a mild reproach that sounded odd coming from a vampire addressing the Slayer.

"It wasn't so bad before, but now it's getting worse," Buffy said, frowning, and the note of defensiveness in her voice made Phoebe raise an eyebrow and exchange an intrigued look with Piper. "And since they were kind enough to offer to check it out..."

She shrugged and Spike rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he muttered, raising the beer bottle to take another sip. He caught sight of Cole's stare and said, frowning:

"What?"

"You look familiar," Cole said, giving Spike a suspicious look. "Do I know you?"

"I've never been to San Francisco," Spike said, curtly.

"Well, I have been to a lot of places," Cole replied in the same tone.

"Like, where?"

"Here. There," Cole said, shrugging. "Down there," he added, motioning his chin to the floor.

"You've been to the Underworld?" Spike asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I used to live in the Underworld."

"Demon?" Spike said, surprised.

"I used to be one," Cole said. He didn't know why he was telling all this to the vampire, but he felt the need to remember the circumstances in which they had met.

"Have you and I ever worked together?" Spike asked, tentatively.

"Ha!" Cole snorted. "I never worked with vampires!"

"Why?" Spike snapped, annoyed. "Never found one who would stoop that low?"

Cole glared at him, narrowing his eyes, and Spike's eyes widened slightly in surprise as that mannerism triggered the memory that had been eluding him.

"Wait a second..." he said, with a small grin. "You're right. I never worked with you."

He made a pause, a sly glint in his eyes as his grin slowly grew wider.

"I worked with your mother."

"What!" Cole exclaimed.

"Yes, now I remember," Spike said, clearly enjoying it. "You were this big." -- he held his hand out about four feet from the floor, looking at Cole in mock amazement -- "My, my, have you grown!"

Cole gave him a cold look, but Spike proceeded, unabashed:

"You're the son of, uh..." -- he tapped his fingers on the bottle, biting his lower lip as he tried to remember -- "Damn, the name is on the tip of my tongue: pretty little thing, with dark hair just like yours, black eyes, porcelain skin, and a nose turned up really high for someone who was as desperate as she was!"

"She wasn't desperate," Cole said, sharply.

"Oh, yes, she was, kiddo. Mommy had gotten herself into some really big trouble," Spike said, smugly. "She was as desperate as one could possibly be, and I knew that, and she knew that I knew, even though she never took that haughty look off her pretty face and discussed prices like a shark, wheel and deal."

"She was one tough negotiator," he admitted, "the toughest one I've ever faced. But the simple fact that she bothered to negotiate, instead of just threatening me, showed how thin the ice she was walking on."

"That, and the fact that she was working with a vampire," Anya couldn't help but taunting.

"You know," Spike said, turning an annoyed look towards her, "vengeance demons aren't all that far up the scale, either. Still," he added, ignoring Xander's glare, "she didn't come to me because she was desperate; she came to me because that doll had brains. She wanted me to help her get the Rod of Dandenon."

"So, that's how the Source got the Rod of Dandenon!" Anya exclaimed, surprised.

"She was the one who took the Rod of Dandenon to the Underworld?" Leo asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Only after I stole it and gave it to her," Spike said. "The Guardians of Dandenon were as blind as bats, but they could sense the soul of anyone trying to get near the Rod from miles away. A being with a good soul wouldn't be able to get anywhere near the Rod without being discovered: the darker the soul, the harder it was for them to sense it. Still, hundreds of demons were slaughtered by the Guardians through the years, because no one had thought of doing what dollface did: send someone who had no soul at all to get the Rod."

Cole couldn't help but smile a little. It was just like his mother to take what looked like a dead-end and see an aspect of the situation that everyone else had missed. As a demon, he had sought her advice, and she had never failed him: they had spent many nights sitting at her quarters, drinking the flavored coffee only she could make and discussing some problem that was puzzling him.

"Dada!" -- Ben's voice cut off his musings as the toddler patted his arm.

"Hi, you," Cole said with a smile as he reached out and took one of Ben's hands in his. He toyed with the chubby fingers and lightly tickled the palm of the little hand he held in his, making the toddler giggle.

"Now, back to Buffy's bad luck," Phoebe said, smiling as Ben giggled and recoiled into her arms, avoiding Cole's tickling hand, "I was thinking, maybe we could make some changes to that spell we used to enchant the sunglasses in order to identify the Source. Remember? Reveal the evil within; if there's dark magic working on Buffy, it should reveal it."

"What spell?" Paige asked.

"You weren't with us yet," Phoebe explained. "It was during that time when the Source was trying to turn you evil. So..." -- she turned to Buffy again.

"I'm not sure," Buffy said, shuffling her feet.

"Why not?" Phoebe asked, surprised.

"Because her own powers are rooted in evil," Spike said.

Buffy turned an upset look towards him and he asked, tilting his head to the side and giving her an ironic half grin:

"Aren't they?"

"That's true," Buffy sighed, turning to Phoebe again. "The Slayer's powers are rooted in the darkness: if you scan for dark magic in me, you'll find a lot of it, curse or no curse."

"Why not just scan for magic, good or evil?" Cole said. "If there are any external forces at play, the alien magic should show in a different pattern."

"Someone has been doing his homework," Piper teased with a smile, and Cole shifted on his seat, slightly embarrassed in spite of the compliment.

"You've been studying the witchcraft?" Anya asked, arching her eyebrows. "Why?"

"Well..." Cole said. "Remember how my father was human?"

She nodded and he proceeded with a sheepish smile:

"It turns out he was also a witch."

"A witch?" -- Anya's eyes grew as big as saucers -- "You're half witch?"

"She let a witch bed her??" Spike exclaimed, between stunned and amused. "So, that's how she fell in disgrace!"

"Shut up," Cole snarled, swirling his head towards Spike. He didn't notice all the ice cubes in the glasses that rested on the table before him start to melt down at an impossible speed, and neither did anyone else in the room.

"Ha!" Spike proceeded with a sneer, oblivious to the danger. "Too good for a vampire, but not for a witch!"

For a split second, Cole was too shocked to react. Then, as the full meaning of Spike's words dawned on him, he jumped to his feet, but before Spike could do the same the water in Buffy's glass had heated up almost to the point of boiling and dashed out of the glass with a whoosh and splashed on Spike's face, making the vampire yell in pain.

"Cole!" Phoebe said, promptly standing up, too. "Baby, are you okay?"

Cole had frozen in place when he saw the water fly out of the glass and towards Spike, and was now staring at the glass.

"Did I do that?" he asked.

"I think you did," Leo said, walking towards him. "Your anger must have triggered your powers, just like it happened to Piper when she was exploding things around the house. Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Uh, yes. I'm fine, I just..."

Cole frowned, looking at the glass in confusion. Melting the ice, yes, he could picture himself doing that. But making it fly out of the glass, that was a whole different matter. He had talked to his father about that: his powers were somewhat bound by the laws of nature. He could summon the wind to blow things around, but he couldn't just TK them like Prue and Paige did. Cole sighed and shook his head: he'd have to ask his father about that the next time he came over.

Meanwhile, Spike was using a paper napkin to dry his face, which was reddish, having been burnt by the hot water.

"A little touchy, aren't we?" he grunted. "There was no need to freak out, you know. I told you she was one tough negotiator."

Before Cole could reply, Ben turned an angry face towards Spike and scolded him, waving his finger at the vampire:

"No no no!!"

That broke the tension in the room, and Cole chuckled slightly as he took his little boy from Phoebe's arms:

"I'm the one who takes care of you, you know, not the other way around," he said, smiling. "But thank you for standing up for me."

"Hi!" Ben said, grinning at him and trying to grab his nose. That made daddy chuckle, just like he had expected it would. Grown ups were always trying to grab his nose, and Ben found it rather amusing: he considered it a great way to cheer someone up. He grinned proudly as he saw that daddy didn't look upset anymore. That mean man shouldn't have made daddy upset, and if he did again, Ben would send the water after him again, yes, he would. He gave the water in the glasses a pensive look: the water was a friend, just like the wind, he knew that now. He had learned that when daddy's magic coursed through him, flowing from daddy to the water, making the tip of Ben's fingers and toes tingle, and his tummy tickle. He giggled as he remembered: funny feeling.

Meanwhile, Buffy was scolding Spike between clenched teeth:

"Another smart crack and I'll take their offer to throw you out."

"Hey, he started it, asking if we had already met," Spike protested. "And you know that I can't be easily scared away, luv," he added, with a small grin that made her glare at him.

"You keep harassing my family, and I'm gonna put this little theory of yours to the test," Piper said, frowning. Then turning to Buffy: "So, do you wanna try the spell now, before we have dinner?"

"I'd like to," Buffy said. "I mean, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Piper said. "Come on, let's go to the attic, where we won't be spotted from outside, and whatever we find out, we can discuss it over dinner."

"Here," Leo said, putting his arm around her shoulders, "let me orb you to the attic, and the others can meet us there."

"O'b!" Ben squealed, bouncing excitedly in Cole's arms.

"No, sir," Phoebe said. "Only Uncle Leo and Auntie Piper: the rest of us are gonna walk." -- she smiled at him -- "Come on, we're gonna see Buffy's magic. Don't you wanna see her magic?"

"'Kay!" Ben said. He turned to Buffy and waved at her, making her smile. When he stretched his arms toward her, though, she promptly took a step back.

"I'm sorry, sweetie..." she said, looking unhappy. "I wish I could, but right now I don't think it's safe. Wouldn't wanna trip down the stairs with you in my arms."

"I don't have any bad luck," Dawn said, hopefully.

"So," Cole said to Ben, "do you wanna go with Dawn?"

"Hi!" Ben said, reaching out for her, and Dawn promptly took the toddler in her arms as Cole handed him to her.

"Let me know when he gets too heavy," Cole said, smiling.

"Dawn, be careful," Buffy reminded her. "Babies can be quite squirmy."

"Uh hu," Dawn muttered, her eyes trained on Ben, watching with delight as he threw his arms around her neck and snuggled in her arms.

"I think he trusts me," she said softly.

Dawn smiled and perked up as she followed Phoebe upstairs, proudly holding Ben, and Piper, who before she was the most powerful witch of the coven and the older sister in the household had been the clumsy and painfully shy younger sister of a very popular Prue Halliwell, watched the girl with a pensive expression, wondering what it was like to be the teenage baby sister of the Chosen One.

"Honey?" Leo called gently, startling her.

"Uh?" she said, turning to him. "Sorry, honey, I was just..." -- she smiled and shook her head -- "Never mind. Orb me upstairs, I wanna get to the Book of Shadows before Spike arrives there."

"Your wish is my command, milady," he said, leaning down to kiss the tip of her nose, and Piper's giggle was mixed with the chiming sound of his orb.