QUESTIONABLE ALLIANCE
Authors: Wicked R and Charmed-Snow

A/N: Thank you very much! We would love to read more of your reviews! About the pairing, Cole and Phoebe is a couple here.

C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P

Chapter 3: Discovery

"Phoebe!" Elise burst into her office, "you still here?"

"Where should I be, boss?"

"At the City Hall, having lunch with Dr. McNamara and Dr. Troy."

"Since when?"

"Since five minutes ago, when you were meant to interview them! The two surgeons called in from Miami to correct the major's disfigured hand. I told you everything in my email from home! Didn't you get it?"

"That email?" She opened her mail program, frowning. She didn't hear the chime of the email arriving as she switched the volume off to be able to concentrate more on her article.

"Hey! You didn't even open outlook? Why?"

"I was busy," she shrugged.

"Now get a taxi, woman, and get it now, cause interviews like this can make the paper more prestigious."

"But why me?" Phoebe started towards the door nevertheless.

"Oh, God, don't you read the papers as well as writing them? There has been only a few weeks since the Carver was caught and the others might ask silly questions that might upset Dr. Troy. You on the other hand, can't ask any questions, since you have no idea what I'm talking about."

"Oh, the Carver, yes. I know, I know."

"Then go, go!"

"Don't worry, Elise, I'll be there in no time," Thinking of another way of travel, it was personal gain to ask Paige to orb her, but her sister herself used it all the time if she was late from somewhere. And it would only take her a minute. She rushed down the corridor, in fact heading for the first corner, where she could phone her younger sister from.

"And Phoebe?" Elise shouted after her, "I take it you haven't seen them arriving at the airport on telly? Just so you don't get a shock, that Dr. Troy looks so much like your ex husband."

A person that would remind her of Cole. Great. It wasn't enough how much she thought about him anyway after her fling with Drake, now there would be something more material to remind her. She dialed her half sister's number nevertheless.

----------------------

"Phoebe!" Paige was freaking out, looking through to the glass enclosed balcony, where the small inner café of the city hall was, "You can't go in there! It's…I'm so sorry Phoebe but I think Cole is in there."

"No, he isn't," Phoebe was busy with searching her bag for an ordinary pen and a paper. She did most of her writing on the computer, "That plastic surgeon does supposedly look like him."

"Are you sure?" Paige pointed towards the corner of the café where the two surgeons were having some kind of seafood.

Of course, Phoebe was that late they started without her. She intended to grant a fleeting look in their direction while still looking for a pen, but after she set an eye on the pair, she couldn't take them off. At first glance, it could've been Cole right enough. She examined his every feature intently. Cole was thinner, his hair darker, his skin lighter. This guy was absorbedly explaining something to his partner, his mannerisms giving the impression of arrogance, the way he was occasionally leaning over the table close to the other doctor, as if to further stress some point. Of course it was quite unadvisable to make such quick judgments in any circumstances, but this was the deciding factor to her answer. Not even as the leader of the underworld had she seen Cole behave so self-importantly, "I…I'm quite sure, Paige. I'll go there, do my job and I'll get a better idea, don't I? But it would be better if you'd orb me some of the last potions we used on him when he wanted to commit suicide. It will not kill him, but at least we would see the chain reaction in action."

"And blow up the city hall with it," Paige grimaced, "I'll be back in a minute. Don't go over to them just yet. Actually, wait here, I have an idea."

Phoebe spent the time till Paige got back with the three potions by further studying the plastic surgeon. He glimpsed in her direction a few times, but she couldn't distinguish recognition or any pretence of purposefully not looking. Emphatically, he was as blank towards her as anybody she had never had contact with before. Of course, Cole could've done any kind of illusion he would've wanted, including empathic ones, but what would've been the point of such a game? If her ex husband would've wanted to con her, he could've chosen another illusion to approach her, using a different physical appearance. In addition, she had never got a taste of Cole's emotions directly through her empathic powers, but this man was full of positive feelings just now, that overpowered her view of him despite his arrogance, although she could tell that this positiveness has been a recent development with him.

Suddenly, a waitress blocked her view, carrying three glasses on a tray. He looked at the waitress' appearance appreciatively, but his smile turned into horror when she pitched forward unexpectedly, sending her tray flying into space and onto the plastic surgeon's shirt. She could see him curse, but not hear him from this side of the glass.

Paige, giving the illusion of a thin blonde, dried him off with a cloth, then disappeared from the café as quickly as she could, giving her the thumbs up.

His identity, or better, non identity established, Phoebe could only laugh at the incident. This was in fact, the best time to join them and embarrass the guy, even if she had to think of a reason first why she was looking at them from a distance at first…but Christian's embarrassment was nothing to the way she embarrassed herself the whole lunch through with staring into those green eyes, just a shade bluer than Cole's had been…

--------------------

"And you going out with him tonight has nothing to do with the fact that he looks just like Cole," Piper scrutinised the sexy mini skirt Phoebe put on.

"I never said that," her sister shrugged.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Won't you start missing Cole if you see much of this doctor? I mean you go out your way to even brush your teeth with Colegate toothpaste, cause you think it gives you some silly extra protection against him and now this?"

"Why would I miss Cole? It's like missing trouble. Besides, I already have him, only a better version that's not going to go psycho on my sisters at any point."

"As much as anybody won't," Piper ruminated. There was a high percentage of disaster concerning the sisters' men and dates, of the human variety or not, "don't you think the physical resemblance is somewhat weird? Paige said she mistook him for Cole."

"But we confirmed he's not, didn't we? Paige soaked him good, mind you. Besides, I knew Cole better than either of you and I'm telling you he talks about different things, eats different things, he even holds the cutlery a different way."

"I'm not saying he is Cole, because well, how does that make sense even with the crazy ways he operated lately, but do you know of many people in the world that look exactly the same and share no connection? Maybe a stupid demon that doesn't exactly know all the history between you and Cole, thought it would be a good way of getting to us to assume that form."

"Well, there's one way of finding that out."

"Oh, no, no, Phoebe, don't tell me you intend to sleep with him on the first date."

"Why? I do that with a lot of people, don't be shocked, you know that. What's more, we will find him out if he's playing at something. Believe me, I would know if it's his body or not."

"Be careful!" Piper shouted after her, but she was already running down the stairs of the porch.

-------------------

"…oh, no, no, no," Phoebe argued, "no trip to San Francisco would be complete without a visit Lombard! It's one of the crookedest and steepest streets in San Francisco. Imagine learning to drive there! You would have no problem anywhere else. The crooked section is the block below Hyde Street. I'll drive you up...maybe tomorrow," Phoebe added, realising she already had a couple of drinks. To counter effect some, she picked up the last couple of pieces from her pizza, "want some? After all, I had some of your fish. The crust is different to what you have on other pizzas. It's akin to biscuit."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I had enough to eat," Christian watched her with amusement while she gobbled the last piece, sopping with sticky cheese.

She noticed his look, "not on a diet I hope."

"Why would I be?"

"Plastic surgeon, body image, that kinda thing."

"From your intonation, you don't like plastic surgeons, do you?"

"Not as a rule. Body image in the media is distorted enough without you being around. Just think of the number of people with eating disorders."

"I thought that's why we exist, well, partly. Because it doesn't matter if you overeat, we take care of it. Besides, why be anorexic, if you can just have surgery? The image in the media is already formed. We are not responsible for that. We only help people be happier with themselves or correct what was disfigured."

"Like you did with the major and the Car…ver," she bit her lip, not believing just a couple of alcoholic drinks would make her slip-up like that.

"Yeah," Christian agreed nonchalantly, playing with the tablecloth. He didn't mention that it was only Sean who performed the operations on the Carver's victims, not him. Even if he wasn't the hero, he paid for it more than Sean, "so you actually agree with the message of the Carver?"

"Well, I obviously," she tried to get out of the corner she talked herself into, "wouldn't do anything about it. Other than protest, the way I do now," she had to explain this away to make sure she wasn't hurting the man's feelings, "supermodels really are extreme abnormalities, a rare species, don't you think? They represent the endomorphic body type, tall, thin, and perfect. Most women are endomorphs, pear shaped or round and no amount of dieting or exercise will make them otherwise. Today, supermodels weigh about twenty three percent less then the average women. The media provides role models that are degradingly submissive to women and teach them to value beauty and thinness over strength and character," she rambled, actually finding it enjoyable to end up in a heated discussion about something that was so close to normality, part of ordinary life. She could never do that with Cole, "We are expected to maintain a beautiful appearance, a thin, sexy body. Many of our role models are not only weak and thin, they are subservient to men and highly sexualised, essentially, they lose their personalities and become objects and images for the pleasure of others."

"I thought you like being sexualised," Christian chipped in audaciously, meaning it more or less as a pick up line. He wasn't taking her seriously, not just because he wasn't in the mood, but also he did prefer submissive women. In that sense, Kimber was just great. She wasn't too dependent, making her own money, but when he was with her, she did everything he asked. No problem. The others were usually too much work in one way or another.

"I do, but that's not the point," Phoebe took no notice of his intentions, "as a psychologist I must…"

"Come on, we did hire psychologists at times to judge if patients were looking at their prospective surgeries from a healthy viewpoint."

"Those must be psychologists with a different type of conviction," Phoebe didn't let it lie, "I have nothing against you, but I don't like where the world is going with this. Me and my sisters, we do dress, we do make ourselves pretty, but we know where the limit is, some poor girls don't. This too, it could be a matter of education. Maybe a bit too far to going towards the other side, but Grams made sure we knew the importance of men and how much they deserved us to shape ourselves for, no offence."

"None taken," this was going to be interesting, they both rating the other sex about the same way.

"One good thing about having a big family is, that even though we argue, things get discussed in the meantime."

"It was pretty much just me, when I was growing up," Christian let on.

Phoebe swallowed, realising she probably made a mistake, taking about big families to an orphan, although she felt like that sometimes as well, not seeing her father for years. But she tried to make it better, "I thought your stepfather died just a few years ago."

Christian straightened up, and Phoebe sensed that she must've done something even worse than her previous mistake, "you did some work, miss journalist," he emphasised the word some, his tone acidic.

Phoebe's empathic mind sensed resentment burning in Christian's. Hastily, she touched the top of his hand, "I'm sorry. It is true that I needed to know some things about you for the paper. But I should've asked instead," she tried to guess the reason why he looked troubled upset so suddenly, "but it wasn't all for my article, I was curious about you," Phoebe admitted, but not the reason that she and her sisters made a final check on his background to assure themselves he wasn't Cole.

"Would you like another round of snaps?" Christian asked, downing his glass in a oner and ignoring her attempt to find out why he was upset, as he would usually defy anybody's efforts to know more about his personal life.

"Gurrr," Phoebe tried to imitate her date, "not yet," she put down the glass. Not matter how much she tried to avoid it, so she didn't look like as if she was throwing herself into the famed doctor's arms, she found herself staring at the man next to her again and again, not to mention the constant comparing with Cole she still did in her head, not so much to prove it wasn't her ex, more so because she wanted to find Cole in him.

Nevertheless, this man was an enigma too. One minute he was self-satisfied and bombastic, so full of himself that she would've wanted to spank him, the next he would behave in a way that made her feel like crying for him. Christian had a few shots of spirits in him, but it didn't show much. Admittedly, absinthe was his favourite drink, but that beverage wasn't available everywhere, because it was too strong. Cole on the other hand, didn't drink spirits, apart from the occasions when he was depressed and really wanted to get pissed off quickly, but he in fact preferred beer, just like Phoebe. This was nothing like what she had bargained for. He didn't make her miss Cole, my ass, she swallowed.

"Are you okay?" Christian interrupted her reverie, "it seemed as if you weren't here."

"I'm grand!" Phoebe exclaimed loudly and merrily, "I really am great," she smiled at him.

"I think you're under the influence, sweetheart."

"I think I am too!" She answered, beaming from ear to ear. 'He's so hot, so hot, can I undress him right here and now?' she thought. "Maybe no more drinks for me," at least she was honest with herself and admitted that she wanted to get that drunk to forget that this was a plastic surgeon and not Cole.

"Where do we go next? Your sister's place? Would like to see it."

"Shame. I had better things in mind," she blurted out. It must've been the alcohol, "not that P3 is not the greatest club ever, but…" She smiled drunkenly and reached for him. He took her hands in his and out of the blue she felt whole. She was drunk enough to forget he wasn't Cole, she established.

"Well, my hotel is not far," this man understood every half hearted suggestion if it was about sex.

-------------------

"Are you all right?" Christian asked as Phoebe staggered into the room.

"I'm somewhat embarrassed…please believe me, it's not as if I jump at every man that comes my way…"

"You don't have to be uncomfortable with this. You're a beautiful woman and you have every right to use your predatory instincts."

"No, no, not that again. The stereotype with beautiful woman having…"

"Actually, I'm just saying that to make you feel like less of a fool."

Phoebe giggled, looking up at him. It was happening. She recognized this feeling, the way she used to feel with Cole. She was helpless to stop it and she had no intentions to do so. She reached up with her arms and brought them around his shoulders to get him closer to her. He proceeded as she wanted him to, lips almost touching hers. Indescribably pleasant feelings ran through her as she raised herself up on her toes, to a familiar height for the kiss that she so frantically wanted.

They nibbled and sucked at each others lips softly, slowly growing in ardour, when she suddenly pushed him away, disappointed. It wasn't that his kiss wasn't urgent, but it was urgent in a different way from Cole's. This was desire, and that was love.

However, she had already started this, so he took the step forward she made going backwards, pressing his lips on her shoulders repeatedly while breathing heavily…

C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P - C/P

A/N : Please review!