The demon exploded, and Cole grinned in satisfaction 'that's the last of them. We should be okay for while, it's gonna take time for them to regroup after that.'
A rather dishevelled Phoebe struggled to her feet, self-consciously pushing at her hair, which seemed to have taken on a life of its own. She was painfully aware that whilst she wasn't exactly looking her best, Cole still looked as suave and well groomed as ever.
Gingerly she began her usual routine of testing all of her limbs to make sure that she was still in one piece. 'Ow' she moaned rubbing her left shoulder, which was bruised from a painful crash landing. Still better a bruised shoulder than being obliterated by an energy ball, which is what would have happened if she hadn't dived for cover. She wished she could still levitate. Jumping over energy balls was a lot less painful than diving out of the way, but that power seemed to have fizzled out when the shield was destroyed, and now she could barely get off the ground. 'Is everyone okay?' She asked, looking around anxiously.
'I'm okay, but I don't think my sweater is gonna make it' Paige grumbled from her prone position behind the couch. 'Look at these scorch marks, they'll never come out' she complained, as Phoebe helped her to her feet.
'I'm a little singed' Johnny admitted screwing up his face at the smell of his scorched hair. Still a little scorched hair was nothing compared to having his entire head taken off, which is what would have happened if Paige hadn't stepped in and re-directed the energy ball. 'It was a little close for comfort, but I'm still in one piece.'
'And still looking fine' Paige muttered appreciatively under her breath.
'Hey Piper, how are you and my little niece doing?' Phoebe called towards the kitchen. She smiled despite herself. The last time she'd seen her older sister Piper had been charging in to the kitchen attempting to blow up three very frightened warlocks. Okay so it had been more like a fast waddle than a charge, but she'd still looked pretty formidable.
'Piper?' Phoebe called again, a little more urgently this time.
When Piper didn't respond Phoebe felt a lurch of panic. What if she was hurt or unconscious or something? Logically she knew that Piper couldn't really be hurt, she had that whole self-healing thing going on, plus she was currently indestructible, but ever since losing Prue, Phoebe had been unable to think rationally where her sisters were concerned.
She paused, listened for a moment for sounds of fighting, but heard nothing; in fact the house was unnaturally quiet. Phoebe shivered. Something about this didn't feel right; Piper should have answered her by now. She ran to the kitchen, anxiously scanning the room, half expecting to see Piper lying hurt on the floor, but there was nothing, no sign of her sister at all.
'Maybe she took the fight upstairs' Paige suggested, appearing behind Phoebe. 'I mean it was pretty chaotic there for a while.' She smiled to herself 'Brad Pitt could have walked in naked and I probably wouldn't have noticed, well maybe I would have noticed, but I wouldn't have had much time to really appreciate..'
'Paige.' Phoebe interrupted tersely. 'Piper's missing.'
Seeing the fear in Phoebe's eyes, and sensing the anxiety in her voice, Paige took a deep breath, and tried to think logically. 'Okay you saw her come in here. Think. How long ago?'
'Phoebe closed her eyes, tried to remember, but she couldn't be sure. She had no idea how long they'd been fighting. 'I don't know' she said finally, feeling the panic engulf her.
She ran to in to the hall, with Paige following close behind her. 'Piper, are you up there?' she shouted up the stairs, but received no reply. Sinking down on the bottom step Phoebe buried her head in her hands 'Oh God this is all my fault, I should never have let her stay down here.'
'Hey' Paige argued. 'She wanted to stay down here and you know what Piper's like when she's made her mind up, there was no way you could have convinced her to go.'
'I should have tried harder. Why didn't I try harder?' Phoebe wailed.
Paige realised that she was gonna have to take control, Piper was missing, and Phoebe was in no shape to play lead witch right now. 'Listen Phoebe we're gonna fix this okay. We're gonna find her I promise. Johnny and I'll go check upstairs; you and Cole take the basement and outside. She's gotta be here somewhere.'
'Piper?' Phoebe asked hopefully, jumping up from her perch on the arm of the couch.
'No it's just me' Cole said softly. 'I looked everywhere out there, there's no sign of her.' He moved over and gave Phoebe's hand a comforting squeeze. 'Don't worry, we'll find her.'
Cole hated to see Phoebe so distraught; he could tell that this was eating her up inside. She blamed herself for Prue's death, because she hadn't been there to help her sisters, instead she'd been with him in the Underworld. He didn't know if things would have worked out differently if Phoebe had been there. He was just thankful that she wasn't- she could have been killed too and he couldn't stand the thought of losing her.
He'd never really gotten along with Phoebe's sisters. At first he'd seen them as adversaries to be eliminated then later as obstacles to be overcome in his quest to win over Phoebe. To begin with he'd found Piper irritating; always whining about how she wanted a normal life, not appreciating the incredible powers she'd been given. He'd figured she was weak and pathetic. Sure he hadn't gotten along with Prue, but at least he'd had a grudging respect for her take charge attitude and kick ass approach – she was tough, a worthy sparring partner.
Over the years he'd come to revise his opinion of Piper. She'd shown a strength of character that had surprised him. She'd stood up to the Elders over her marriage to Leo, had been willing to break the rules and risk the consequences. Now she'd taken over Prue's role as head of the family and she was damn good at it too. Maybe she was a little bossy for his liking, and they had clashed several times, usually over his relationship with Phoebe, but he admired her fighting spirit and her willingness to stick to her guns when she thought she was right.
He flopped down on the couch next to Phoebe, and kissed her lightly on the top of her head. She responded by moving closer to him, and instinctively he placed his arm around her shoulders. Phoebe allowed herself to be drawn in to his embrace, burying her face in the soft fabric of his sweater.
Paige and Johnny orbed in to the lounge in a twinkling of blue lights, unwittingly interrupting the moment of tenderness between the former lovers, who sprang apart guiltily. Paige was mighty glad that she was still able to orb. It was weird, but the damage to the shield didn't seem to have affected her powers as much as it had her sisters' powers.
'Anything?' Phoebe asked desperately.
'No' Paige admitted reluctantly 'we tried scrying for her and got nothing.'
They looked at each other for a moment and a look of understanding passed between them. Taking a deep breath they yelled simultaneously 'Leo!'