Three days later found Piper on a flight to Los Angeles.
It would probably be a long time before Leo and Paige fully recovered from the impact of this secret. But they had ultimately agreed to support her efforts for Phoebe's sake. Leo had taken a couple of days off to take care of Chris. Piper had decided to take Wyatt with her, knowing that he would enjoy the travel experience. And as far as Phoebe was concerned, Piper was attending a hands on workshop on catering children's parties.
After she and Wyatt got checked in at the hotel, Piper checked with the concierge to confirm the location of the law office and what her estimated travel time to her appointment would be. Then she set about taking Wyatt to the zoo and the nearest party pizza spot so that he would have appropriate stories to tell if he were asked. She didn't want to ask him to tell any lies that weren't absolutely necessary. At three, there was no guarantee that he could keep a lie straight anyway.
At four o'clock she stood nervously outside her true destination. Bertram & Associates took up half of the third floor of a moderately priced office building; a chrome and glass affair with a nice central location. Piper tried hard not to appear fidgety for fear that someone in the reception area would notice. Smiling down at Wyatt, she reminded him, "You be good while Mommy takes care of this appointment sweetie and then we'll find someplace really fun for dinner. Okay?" When he nodded his agreement, Piper fortified herself with a deep breath and reached for the door.
"Hi. I'm Mrs. Davidson, I have a four fifteen appointment with Mr.Carter."
The receptionist returned Piper's tentative smile and checked her appointment book. "Yes ma'am, oh here it is, an advice consultation."
"Yes, that's it."
"Mr. Carter just called in. He's in transit from the courthouse, but he'll be here shortly. He said to go ahead and have you wait in his office. " If you'll just follow me. Could I get you something to drink while you wait? "
"No thank you, we're fine," Piper followed her down the corridor, the sound of their footsteps swallowed by the plush carpeting.
When they had been left in the office, Piper took in her surroundings appreciatively. Not Bad. The office wasn't opulent, but it was by no means tacky. The carpeting was obviously expensive, the furniture was simple but elegant and appeared to have been designed for comfort. The tinted window behind the desk overlooked what could have been any busy city street. A child-sized table and chairs, a box of toys, and a small shelf of children's books, crayons and coloring books took up one corner of the office.
That corner caused Piper to take a second look around, but there weren't any family photos to be seen. She relaxed a bit and then reminded herself that she wasn't even sure this was Cole. That uncertainty lasted all of a minute.
The door to the office opened and an unmistakable tall, dark haired man entered. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting Mrs. Davidson," he said looking up from the folder in his hands.
When his eyes found his waiting client, a few seconds turned into a lifetime. Cole literally felt his composure slip away. The folder he was carrying fluttered to the floor, its pages floating loose around it. He was thankful that he had closed the door already as he leaned against it weak kneed. Pale and slack jawed; he looked again and tried desperately to convince himself that he was wrong. The hair was different, but he wasn't wrong, the face was unmistakable and the child that accompanied her bore a strong resemblance to his father.
"Piper," his voice emerged in a strangled croak.
Piper felt a swell of pity for the man before her. She could well imagine what he was going through right now. She was only heartened by the thought that he would likely forgive her for the shock. That is if he doesn't have a heart attack first.
"Hi, long time no see," she tried weakly for humor. "Is it safe to talk here?" She asked more seriously.
He nodded warily. His legs seemed to be working again, but he was still terribly pale. He bent down and haphazardly gathered up the spilled papers. Striding across the office to deposit them on his desk, he continued to struggle to regain his composure.
"Travis Carter huh, nice name, but I think I like Cole Turner better." Piper really only spoke to allow him a few more moments to absorb the shock.
The sound of his name snapped something inside of Cole and he was suddenly angry.
"How did you know? How did you find me? Why are you here? I've left all of you alone!"
Cole's voice had risen in pitch with each question and he had ended in a near shout. When he suddenly remembered the child that accompanied her with a sidelong glance. The little boy was staring at him with a mixture of apprehension and mistrust.
Piper caught the glance and knelt down beside Wyatt, " Wyatt honey, why don't you go over there and color while Cole and I talk."
"That big man yelled at you Mommy," Wyatt shot an accusatory look at Cole.
"It's okay sweetie. I surprised him and he's just a little excitable."
"He's loud when he's 'citable. Don't he have an inside voice?"
Piper struggled to stifle a smile at her son's disapproval.
Cole had the good grace to look chagrined at being chastised by a small boy; he knelt down in front of Wyatt, " I'm sorry big guy. I promise no more yelling. It's okay for you to go color if you'd like."
" 'Kay," Wyatt agreed though his suspicion was still obvious.
Cole watched him go and then turned to Piper with a deep sigh. " I guess we had best sit down so you can tell me just what the hell is going on," he said quietly.
" If you don't mind, I think I'll start with your easier questions first. I'm not here to accuse you of bothering us, I know that you haven't. As for how I knew, I've known since Phoebe brought you back. I knew she did it and I knew why. As for how I found you, I looked," she quirked a half smile at him.
"Not funny," he growled.
"Sorry. The why is a little more complicated; I take it you don't keep up with the news?"
"If you mean Charmed news, no, I don't. If you don't want to fall down it's best not to go where it's slippery." He added the last with a sardonic quirk of one brow.
"I'm here because Phoebe needs you."
"Phoebe made herself pretty clear the last time I saw her. And as much as I hated it, she was right about all the reasons we couldn't be together."
"Things change Cole."
"What? Did the world suddenly stop turning? Have the laws that govern the universe been rewritten?" His sarcasm was evident.
" Well, kind of. The Charmed Ones are dead."
"What," Cole started out of his chair " you said Phoebe needed me, you're here, did something happen to Paige?"
" No, it's not like that. I don't mean literally dead. We're dead to the world of magic, new names, new lives, no more fighting evil or chasing demons."
"And just how did you manage that?"
"There was a battle at the manor a few months ago, it was nearly destroyed and us with it. If it hadn't been for Prue teaching Leo astral projection and Leo teaching us, we would have failed against Zankou. And we would be dead, instead of just faking it."
"I still can't believe that the Elders just let go of their most cherished weapon against evil. You've all been almost killed before, damn, I think you've all actually been killed at one time or another."
" Things with the Elders got pretty strained even before this happened. They took Leo's memories as a kind of punishment and to force him to choose between his family and the greater good, the boys and I won. He's now fully human." Piper finished the last with a small smile.
"No more missed dinners huh?" Cole let the first hint of a smile surface. "That still doesn't explain why they…"
" They almost lost all of us at once. Even the Elders were forced to admit that for whatever reason, this generation of Charmed Ones is notoriously targeted. They pretty much had to agree that there might not be any future generations to carry on the legacy if we weren't retired. We didn't ask for their help, so they mumbled their greater good party line and let it be."
Cole sat quietly absorbing the implications of what Piper had said. New lives, no magic. Hope and fear raged within him simultaneously and he finally asked the question he most needed answered.
"Piper, what makes you so sure that she'll have me, that I'm what she needs?"
"Part of it is that I know my little sister. But what makes me most certain is that you didn't ask me why I thought you would have her. And no where in your lovely office is there a single sign that you have a wife or family."
Piper pulled a card from her purse, jotted something on the back and stood and called to Wyatt. She handed the card to Cole and dropped a hand to his shoulder for a gentle squeeze.
"This is where we're staying. Three years ago Phoebe gave you a second chance at life. I'm here today because the two of you deserve a second chance at love. I know that that has to feel like a terrible risk, but I've never known you to be a coward Cole. So if you decide that it's a chance worth taking, give me a call and I'll tell you what I have in mind. We don't leave until tomorrow evening.