Chapter Two

Ever since she'd put the boys to bed, Piper had been sitting on the floor in front of the fire waiting for her sister's return. "It's late," she quietly commented when Phoebe crept past the living room. "Where've you been?"

"The office." Phoebe hesitated to enter the room. Piper was sure to lecture her for running out the way she did and for not checking in. "Guess I got caught up in answering the stacks of mail, didn't notice how long I'd been there. Sorry…"

Recognizing her younger sister's guilty expression at having been inconsiderate, Piper didn't feel the need to comment further. "At least," she sighed, "you didn't go to the mausoleum."

"I went there first," Phoebe admitted. But, when she saw her sister's reaction, she frowned, "I wasn't even there half an hour. What's the big deal?"

Piper shook her head and stared into the fire, "You can't keep doing that, Pheebs. Leave it in the past."

Phoebe's hands went to her hips but she tried to keep her tone from being too sharp, "I needed a place to think."

"You needed a place to feel safe," Piper countered. "There's a difference. A big difference."

"I needed a private place to think about what the Avatars said," Phoebe maintained, glaring at her sister, "and the cemetery seemed the best place to do that."

Piper's eyes narrowed, "That's it?"

Phoebe's annoyance was growing, "That's it. What'd you think, that I'd somehow conjure up Cole and ask him about the Avatars?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Piper retorted as she got to her feet.

"Then what's wrong with you?" Phoebe demanded.

"What's wrong with me," Piper calmly stated, "is that I've got two sisters at each other's throats while we're facing the threat of a new Source, not to mention this mess with the Avatars."

"I am not at Paige's throat," Phoebe sniffed indignantly. "Just because the girl's lost all sense of reason…"

"Phoebe…"

"What?" Phoebe snapped. "Fine. I'll go up to her room and apologize and -- What?"

"She isn't there," Piper told her. "She's at Kyle's."

"Great," Phoebe muttered, "just great."

"I filled her in on our visit with the Avatars," Piper explained, "and not only was she fuming that we dared talk to them without the safety of the Power of Three, she also felt betrayed by Leo for having pretended to care."

"Leo didn't pretend," Phoebe defended. "He was, he was…trapped by his own secret. It's not like he deliberately wanted to keep the truth from us. He had no choice until we were ready."

"I know that," Piper nodded sadly, "and you know that, and we may even understand it to a certain degree. But Paige can't, not after all the time she's spent with Kyle learning about the evil Avatars."

"Whether they're truly evil or not, I don't trust him," Phoebe said. "I've tried, Piper, for Paige's sake, I've tried. But even Darryl, who hasn't been our best friend of late, even Darryl's suspicious of Agent Brody."

"I know," Piper sighed. "That's what makes this so hard…and so familiar."

Phoebe saw the look in her sister's eyes. "Don't start…"

"You're pushing her away," Piper said as she gently tugged her sister closer to the couch and both sat down. "I know you don't mean to but that's what's happening. And what you said to her outside…"

"Was true," Phoebe quietly insisted. "I was in love with Cole. I knew who he was."

"You didn't know he was the Source," Piper disagreed.

Phoebe was quiet a moment while she debated telling Piper her old conflicting ideas as to whether or not she really had known, deep down, the truth about Cole. She shook her head to herself, knowing it wasn't the time, and cleared her throat, "The point is, I'd been with Cole for nearly two years and I knew the truth about his heritage. I'd accepted it and so had you. I wasn't moving out to spite my sisters for not believing in him. I was moving out because I loved him and wanted to start a life of my own with him."

"Number one," Piper said, "Paige isn't moving out. And number two, you should be a little more understanding of her point of view, all things considered."

"I am not the bad guy here…"

"No one's said you are. But she does think you're jealous, that just because you can't ever get your act together doesn't mean you should deprive everyone else of being happy," Piper warily informed her sister. From the stunned look on Phoebe's face, she realized Paige was wrong, at least about that. "She was hurt and confused…I'm sorry."

"Is that what you think too?" Phoebe questioned in a hoarse voice.

"Of course not," Piper quickly told her. "I know you, Phoebe, I know how hard it was for you to let love into your heart in the first place and I know how hard it's been for you in the past couple of years." She fingered a strand of her sister's darkhair and touched Phoebe's cheek, "You're so much like Prue, so afraid of being hurt, that you --"

Phoebe flinched, "This isn't about Prue. And as hard as it may be for you to believe, I know it's not about me. This's about Paige and the fact that she barely knows a thing about Agent Kyle Brody and yet she's practically moved in with him now." Piper was about to interrupt but Phoebe cut her off, "You said she refused to leave his side when you and Leo confronted her about Inspector Sheridan and I saw the bag she was carrying tonight. She's bringing some essentials into his place and that, to me, is practically moving in. All this after finding out that he deliberately drugged and practically kidnapped Inspector Sheridan and she's still perfectly fine with it. And so are you, it seems…"

"How can you say that?" Piper exclaimed when Phoebe suddenly stood and turned from her.

"Because it seems I'm the only one who's been trying to warn Paige," Phoebe replied. "She's not angry with you, is she? Or accusing you of being jealous?" She shook her head, "I thought Paige was above that pettiness."

"What pettiness?" Piper frowned.

Phoebe faced her sister, "If Paige wants to deliberately ignore my warnings and make the same mistake I did, then, fine, let her." She strode towards the stairs, "I give up."

Piper hurried after her sister. "Phoebe…" But Phoebe ignored her and continued up the stairs to the bedrooms. "Phoebe, we have to talk."

"It's late and I'm going to bed," Phoebe dismissed Piper and shut her bedroom door behind her.

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"I'm sorry," Phoebe humbly apologized when she entered the kitchen and found Piper cooking breakfast for an army. She'd heard Piper earlier but hadn't been ready to face her older sister. So she'd let Piper cook out any lingering hurt feelings and now she spotted three different kinds of muffins and two styles of eggs already on the table. There was also the basket of bagels and a plate of French toast. She ruffled Wyatt's hair and approached her sister, "I'm sorry. I was still upset about the Avatars and Cole when you let me have it about Paige. I shouldn't've taken it out on you and I shouldn't've accused you of anything."

"No, you shouldn't've," Piper quietly agreed. Phoebe turned to go and she called out, "But I understand why you did." Phoebe turned around and she offered, "Can you stay for breakfast so we can talk?"

Phoebe nodded and took a seat at the table. She reached for a blueberry muffin, "Where's Leo?"

"He'll be here soon. I asked him to do some research," Piper replied as she carried a plate of waffles to the table. She placed one in front of Wyatt, adjusted the strap of his booster seat, and smiled when he began to tear the waffle to pieces. "I asked Leo to look into Kyle's story about the Avatars killing his parents." She saw the excited look in Phoebe's eyes and cautioned, "I'm not saying I think Kyle's lying. But maybe it's time we had an objective view of what happened."

"If Leo comes back and says Kyle's been telling the truth, fine," Phoebe decided. "It won't justify what he's done but at least we'd know he's not a threat."

"Of course he is," Piper suddenly sniffled, annoyed that she couldn't keep it together at least for breakfast.

Surprised by her sister's tears, Phoebe pulled Piper into a hug. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Kyle's the one with the Avatar vanquish," Piper cried. "Paige told me about it."

"The one you threatened them with last night?" Now she understood her sister's emotional state. She pulled back and brushed away Piper's tears, "He'd never do anything to Leo."

"Wouldn't he?" Piper argued. "You didn't see how outraged Paige was. I'm surprised he wasn't here last night beating down the door."

Phoebe shook her head, "Paige wouldn't tell him about Leo being one of them. That's too personal." Piper gave her a skeptical look. "Piper, listen to me. Paige loves Leo. That's why she was so hurt. But she would never do anything that could hurt him."

"Things were finally looking up for me and Leo," Piper sniffled again. "Why is it we can never be happy for more than five minutes? Why's the rug always pulled out from under us? When do we get to be happy?"

Phoebe shook her head and held her sister's hand, bringing it to her lips for a kiss, "I don't know, sweetie, and if I did, you'd probably be lecturing me about the evils of personal gain." Piper sputtered out a chuckle and Phoebe smiled, "I love you and we'll find a way to work through this."

"I haven't made up my mind about the Avatars yet," Piper warned as she wiped her eyes. "I believe them about the new Source but I'm not sure it wasn't all part of their plan."

"I want to believe them," Phoebe confessed. "You've no idea how much. These visions I've had of a peaceful future are so……But I'm not sure either. It still seems so convenient."

"Do you think Leo's okay?"

"I don't have my empathic ability," Phoebe reminded her sister, "but he seems to genuinely believe in the Avatars and what they want. He could've used his powers on us but he didn't. He's not going to force us into anything. And you know he's still protecting us. He won't let them hurt us either."

"What if we reject the Avatars idea of a utopia?" Piper worried. "What happens to Leo then? Does he become the enemy?"

"Of course not! Leo's family and always will be." But as the words quickly slipped from her mouth, Phoebe hugged her sister and tried not to wonder whether her promise would come back to haunt them.

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