Piper, Paige, Phoebe and Leo were sitting at the dining table. Piper had prepared their favorite comfort food. Chocolate fudge cake. The girls were very much occupied with their pieces of cake, not looking up a single time.
Leo watched them biding time. They knew that they had to talk about it, but nobody was ready or wanted to start. The last two days had been a really shocking and embarrassing experience for all of them. It wasn't easy for him either. He hadn't had time yet to talk with Piper alone. In fact he had avoided it deliberately. He stirred his coffee cup, hanging into his own thoughts for some moments. But they couldn't lose much more time- the creature which had taken the Book was still on the loose.
"We have to get the Book of Shadows back." Leo tried to start the conversation. He looked at each of them, but neither raised her head, they just nodded.
"Guys you have to get over it," he encouraged, "at least no innocent got hurt or killed. I can tell you, the Elders are very relieved about that."
"What about Cole?" Paige asked, pouring more sugar in her latte macchiato.
"He is certainly no innocent," Phoebe commented, shoving another piece of chocolate cake into her mouth.
"Still, we did him wrong," Piper opposed.
She couldn't let herself think of what she had done. To Cole. And to Leo. She hadn't talked or looked at Leo since the short conversation in their room. Piper summoned all her guts.
"Ok, I'll start." She looked determined at Leo and exhaled deeply, her fingers gripping the coffee mug, "I'm so sorry Leo, for what I have done. I betrayed you. Betrayed my marriage vow to always honor you and be true to you."
Piper blinked a tear away but didn't back off. "Still I'm not sure why I did it. I never had that kind of yearning for him. I think he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."
She couldn't bring herself to say Cole's name. It always brought pictures of them to her mind. Kissing. Groping. She shook them off, when she heard Leo's voice.
"I understand Piper," Leo soothed her, "nobody knows his dark desires. The consciousness normally shields it up. Thank you for your apology, I appreciate it. But I have to admit I'm really hurt."
Leo cast his eyes down. It wasn't easy to forgive or forget that your wife cheated on you. With your ex-brother in law. Unconscious or not. Even when you were an angel and she had been under a spell.
"I don't want him," Piper whispered, "I love only you." She sent Leo a faint smile over the dining table, which he answered with a kind smile, "I love you too."
"You know what disturbs me the most?" Leo asked softly.
Paige and Phoebe felt uncomfortable, they preferred Leo and Piper have this conversation in private. But they had learnt that some truths had to be out on the table to prevent them from biting them into the butt. Piper shook her head.
"The way you treated him afterwards," Leo disclosed. Piper looked at her lap. She knew what Leo meant, but Phoebe and Paige looked up interested.
"The potion hurt him physically. You must have seen it. But you just left him there, not even giving him a blanket to cover himself. Like he was no human, like he was no living being at all. Just some object that had become useless."
Paige's face showed disbelief, while Phoebe just guiltily looked down at her plate. She hadn't treated Cole the slightest bit better than Piper. Maybe her deed was even worse, since she had been in love with him once.
Leo shook his head slightly. "I couldn't have imagined that you could be that cold hearted. I know it was an evil spell and all and I will deal with it, but it won't be easy for me."
Piper just nodded. What could she say? Leo was right. It was going to take some time for herself to make piece with the evil part of her personality. But it was a challenge to never go this way again, that she had promised herself to win.
"And I want to apologize to you Phoebe," Piper picked up the conversation from Leo.
"Me?" Phoebe was surprised and looked at her sisters, "why?"
"I hurt and abused a person who means very much to you. I betrayed you too- hurt you too. I'm sorry," Piper said steadily, fighting for composure.
Phoebe shook her head in denial, "I'm not hurt. He doesn't mean much to me anymore."
"Don't deny it Phoebe, Leo's potion to break the spell worked with unleashing our true desires. You have to face it. It's still him you want deep down," Piper confronted Phoebe.
"No, I don't," Phoebe said stubbornly. "I'm together with Jason now and it works just fine."
"But you were with Cole after drinking the counter-potion," Leo insisted.
"So what," Phoebe exclaimed upset. "We all know that my evil desire is to be with Cole. I was even his queen. So where is the big surprise?" Phoebe asked annoyed. She didn't want to start this discussion with her family again.
"But you were also with him to break the spell…" Piper suggested.
"Maybe, I still feel something for him," Phoebe said vaguely, "but back to square one. He is my evil desire. He makes ME evil. He can NEVER be good. So what is the point?"
Phoebe challenged her sisters, "YOU always told me to stay away from him. Now suddenly because an evil spell went badly for you too, all is different?" She looked provokingly at her sisters.
"I don't know," Piper admitted, "he helped us break the spell. Leo couldn't have done it without him. Maybe he really has changed?"
Since Cole had helped them, Piper had her doubts about their decision to not give Cole another chance after he came back from the wasteland. Hadn't he brought Phoebe back from being a mermaid too?
"He also did it to free himself," Paige threw in, "it wasn't so selfless."
Paige wasn't ready to give Cole credit for anything. Not after what she did to him. He had to be evil to deserve what she had done, otherwise she would be the evil person.
"Still, we all owe him," Leo said, "in this case he has been the innocent". The simple statement shocked the girls. Silence fell in the kitchen.
"I tortured him," Paige revealed, looking first at Phoebe then at Piper. It was better to bring it all out now.
Phoebe's mouth fell open, her eyes growing wide. "What exactly did you do? You promised me not to hurt him," Phoebe choked on her words.
Piper was too shocked to say anything. She just reached automatically for Leo's hand, who squeezed it soothingly.
Paige squirmed at her seat. "I slashed him, slowly and deliberately. I enjoyed it," Paige whispered, "and I tried to kill him." Her words were almost inaudible. She looked into her cup, not able to bear the look on her family's faces.
"You didn't," Phoebe breathed in dismay. She had a bad feeling in her stomach like having to throw up.
"I was stopped at the last moment," Paige disclosed, "I was about to cut Cole's throat when Leo orbed in."
Paige threw a grateful glance at Leo. She could have never forgiven herself for killing someone – even if it was Cole.
"You mean slash like cutting with a knife?" Piper asked finally unbelievingly.
She couldn't imagine her baby sister doing something like this. Paige, who couldn't hurt a fly. Paige just nodded without lifting her head, looking very guilty.
Phoebe held her hand over her mouth, breathing heavily. Her sister had almost killed Cole. "What was your evil desire?" Phoebe asked confused.
"I guess I wanted to be really evil and all powerful. What's better to prove that than tormenting a defenseless creature? Maybe that's why I took a liking to the potions as well. Which, by the way Piper, I have not anymore."
"Glad to hear that," Piper remarked, "your potions reeked. But what broke the spell for you?"
"I realized, I want to help people, not hurt them. I want to be a good person, a good witch, a good sister. That's my true desire I think," Paige said thoughtfully.
"Phoebe, I guess I have to ask you for forgiveness too," Paige said.
"What … why?" Phoebe asked. She was still dazed from Paige's revelation.
"I'm sorry I tried to kill Cole. I'm sorry I tortured him." She looked at her sister intensely. "I saw your face as I told it. It hit you hard didn't it?"
Phoebe took some deep breaths. "I just never thought that you could kill someone cold-blooded Paige, not even Cole," Phoebe acknowledged, "It gives me the creeps."
Phoebe wouldn't admit to herself the thought of Cole gone forever scared her deeply.
"Me too," Paige whispered as she reached for Phoebe's hand.
"Maybe you should tell this to Cole," Leo suggested.
Paige's head shot in his direction, "you are kidding?" she asked incredulously.
Leo shook is head. "No, frankly, I think you all owe him at least an apology. He was mistreated by all of you and he helped to break the spell. I'm not defending Cole's former deeds, but in this particular one he has done nothing but good."
"I can't talk to him," Phoebe said firmly, "He knows I'm with Jason. What should I say to him? I'm not coming back to him, so it's better we don't see each other."
Phoebe got up from her seat. "Since we have sorted this out amongst us, I'll go over to Jason's. I hope he forgives me." She turned towards the door and was almost out of it when Piper called after her.
"What has Jason to do with it?"
Phoebe turned round unwillingly. She didn't like to spill this to her sisters, but keeping secrets and lying was no alternative, it was just to plain dangerous in this family.
So she explained reluctantly, "Jason caught Cole and me in my room…. breaking the spell." Phoebe pulled a face. "He came by because I called in sick."
"Ouch!" Paige said, "Guess he wasn't pleased?"
"Exactly, that's why I need to talk to him urgently," Phoebe said.
"And what will you tell him?" Piper asked, "You can't just talk about magic."
"Something about Cole coming back surprisingly after almost a year, me being overwhelmed because I thought he was dead, kind of a sentimental one time relapse. I just hope he buys it. Keep your fingers crossed for me –will you?"
With that Phoebe was out of the kitchen.
"What about you two?" Leo asked, "Will one of you talk with him?"
"Why are you so eager we do it Leo?" Piper asked unwillingly.
She couldn't imagine herself talking with Cole about what happened. She had hardly been able to talk with Leo and her sisters. She couldn't think about it without feeling sick, guilty and embarrassed.
"First I think it's the appropriate thing to do and second we have to know if he plans to retaliate," Leo answered.
"You think he wants to repay us?" Paige was alert immediately.
"I don't know. That's why I preferred Phoebe went over and talked to him. She knows him best. But since this seems not to be happening, one of you has to do it."
"What about you?" Paige asked, "You seemed to have worked well together with him."
"It's not about me," Leo informed her, "you did something wrong, and you have to assume responsibility for it."
Paige thought about Leo's words then admitted, "You are right Leo. If I want to be a really good person I have to accept and handle the bad things I do. I will go and ask Cole's pardon."
Piper looked surprised at her sister, "You are really going to do this?" She was impressed of Paige's attitude.
Paige pulled a face, "I can't say it doesn't suck already, but I will. Just hope he doesn't kill me on sight".
Piper stood up determinedly. "But before that, let's go and catch the demon that has our Book and put us under this spell. He will be so sorry for doing it."
"You are right," Paige said grimly following her sister to the attic.
Leo smiled to himself. His family seemed strong enough to withstand any demon attack. Even if their deepest feelings were targeted. They had come a long way from the brats they had been when he had first met them.
tbc