Piper was unloading the pram from the car, Wyatt situated on her hip. She had her hair in a bun and wore casual blue jeans and a fitting white sweater. She had been searching for the parking space for over 20 minutes and was now late for her appointment. She didn't like that at all. She cursed only mentally to not give Wyatt a bad example.Who would think that there were so many people on the way on a Friday afternoon? Piper put Wyatt in the Pram and pushed it forward. Wyatt smiled happily and looked attentive at the bygoners. It didn't happen very often that he got out of the house alone with his mummy.
"I'm not sure why I'm doing this," Piper murmured to herself.
Probably she had been intrigued by the meeting place he had suggested. Not some sleazy bar but a children's playground. Not in the middle of the night somewhere secluded but in bright daylight in the middle of the city. Piper stopped at the entrance to the playground and looked around. He wasn't to miss. She just had to follow the glances of some of the other mothers –single parents surely.
A single man attending a playground was a rare sight indeed. He was sitting at the back of the playground chatting with a woman with a baby. Piper strode forward determinedly, inwardly getting a little bit tense. He had seen her also and waved a hand at her. Smiling. She could tell the woman besides him didn't like her showing up. She made a sour face. Piper wasn't impressed by that.
"If you knew him you would thank me on knees for not giving you a chance to get involved with him," she whispered to herself.
She approached them quickly and put a relaxed smile on her face. She had to keep up appearances in the public in front of innocents.
"Hi Piper, thank you for agreeing to see me." Cole got up and smiled at her. The woman next to him watched their exchange suspiciously.
"Hi Cole," Piper said not to friendly, "Want to introduce me to your friend?" Better to scare the woman away right now.
Cole half-turned to the woman and introduced. "That's Sandy, we just met her here. And that's Piper the sister of my ex-wife."
Sandy got up and shook Piper's hand. "Hi, nice to meet you."
"What would Cole have to do with his ex-in-laws?" Sandy asked herself.
Piper didn't make the expression she was very fond of Cole. Sandy didn't want to get between some family fight so she decided to leave, "I've got to go."
Turning her attention to Cole she said smiling, "It was nice meeting you Cole. Maybe we'll see each other again. I happen to be here from time to time." He was a handsome man, and as it looked like, he was single, at least divorced.
"Maybe," Cole agreed, "you never know." He wasn't keen on meeting her again. She had been nice enough to kill time but not more.
"Bye Piper," she said and threw a glance at Wyatt, "a nice son you have here. I remember my Mike in that age. They are so sweet then. But believe me that changes when they start kindergarten." She gave Piper a sympathetic look like foreseeing her troubled future, then turned and left, yelling for Mike.
Piper raised an eyebrow. Why did the woman think she could give her advice? She didn't know her at all. Her hand on the handle of Wyatt's pram Piper called after the woman with an annoyed voice.
"Sandy, didn't you forget something?"
She couldn't believe a mother would forget her baby at a park bench. She gestured towards the baby bag still on the bench.
Sandy turned and shook her head with a grin. "It's not mine," she yelled back.
If Piper didn't know that Cole had a daughter, then they couldn't be that close. Which left chances for her. Sandy smiled to herself. She would take Mike to this particular playground more often in the future.
Piper looked around for some other woman who looked like she had an interest in that baby, but found no unoccupied mum. So she turned her attention to Cole, eyeing him warily.
"Who does this baby belong to? Don't tell me you stole it somewhere."
Just thinking that he could have kidnapped a baby made Piper's inside churn. She questioned her decision to meet him alone. Maybe he was after Wyatt.
"Always thinking the best of me, Piper. Seems like distance didn't make the heart grow fonder," Cole said, his smile vanishing. He sat heavily back on the bench, his left arm protective across the baby bag, looking up at her.
Piper still stood at the spot where she had arrived. Wyatt was squirming in his seat. All the adults talking were just plain boring. He tried to get out. Piper fastened the brakes of the pram, took Wyatt out of it and put him on her hip again. It had become too heavy to just lift him in her arms all the time. She felt safer having him near while she wasn't sure what Cole was up to. She cradled Wyatt softly and soothed him with some sweet words.
Cole watched her intently. She surely was a good Mum, he could see it by how Wyatt reacted to her.
"You didn't answer my question," Piper demanded from Cole with a firm voice. He wasn't going to take her for a fool.
"She is my daughter, Piper," Cole disclosed, watching her reaction to his revelation. It looked like Leo had kept his word and didn't tell her anything.
Piper gave him an unbelieving look. "Come on Cole, you don't expect me to buy that," she snorted.
Cole shrugged, "But it's the truth. I could even show you my paternity test results. It's what Leo was helping me with some time ago."
Piper's eyes grew wide and she sucked in some air. She had to sit down on the bench next to the baby bag to keep her knees from buckling. You don't hear every day that one of the most resourceful demons reproduced himself.
Cole watched her face changing from disbelief to utter shock.
"Who's her mother?" Piper managed to ask. If he had lumped together with some demoness the world was in grave danger from this child and his daddy.
She was clutching Wyatt more tightly but couldn't resist looking into the baby bag. Cole followed her glance with his eyes. Azur blue eyes greeted Piper, a tiny nose and lips, and a tangled mass of dark brown hair encircling a small feisty face.
"Your daughter is endearing," Piper had to admit.
She was so small, so delicate and probably deadly dangerous. Piper shuddered slightly. Looks could be so deceiving. Her family had learnt this the hard way the last year. Damn deceitful Elders. Damn deceitful Avatars.
"Her mother was a human," Cole informed Piper, also looking at his daughter, a father's proud smile on his face. "Her name is Grace."
Piper recognized the softness in his voice and looked at him. She couldn't see anything more than a man obviously adoring his daughter. She was bound to think of the time when Phoebe had been pregnant with his child. Phoebe had told her how happy Cole had been then.
"That's a beautiful name," she said and Cole's smile added a note of brightness.
"Thank goodness you are no double demon child," Piper thought and released a part of her tension. When there was a human mother, there was still hope for the child to come out of it as a good person. But then, Cole's father had been human and the effect wasn't that…convincing.
"What do you mean by was? Where is she now?" Piper asked disturbed. She needed to know more about the woman Cole had a child with.
"She is dead. She was shot some weeks ago," Cole said. Piper didn't hear any sadness in his voice.
"What happened? And you say it like it doesn't bother you," she said surprised. "Didn't you love her?"
"You always need all the nitty gritty details, don't you Piper?" Cole asked slightly amused. In short he told her what he knew about Linda's death and how he had come to know he had a child. Piper listened to him attentively.
"And why do you tell me all this?" Piper finally asked, "Why did you want to meet me?" She couldn't think of a reason why she would have something to do with it.
"I've been with my daughter for around four weeks now, and figured out, it's really hard doing it all alone," Cole disclosed, ruffling his hair with one hand, the index finger of his other hand playing with the small fist of his daughter.
"Maybe you should have thought of that before claiming custody," Piper said stiffly, "there are millions of other single parents out there facing the same problem Cole. I really don't see why you tell this to me," Piper said unnerved. Lately she felt more and more like a single parent herself, with Leo being on White lighter duty day after day and even night after night.
"Other single parents don't have to face demons, Piper. I got attacked twice in these last weeks." Cole was insistent. The demonic attacks had been the reason he had changed his mind. Before them he had been dead set on leaving San Francisco as soon as possible without running into Phoebe.
"You are still here. Looks like you can take them on. As I remember all too vividly you are pretty powerful Cole."
Talking about his powers was getting him nowhere. Cole grabbed Grace from the baby bag and held her protectively to his chest, cradling her softly in his arms. Grace lent her head contentedly against her father's shoulder. Piper watched him in amazement. He was handling her very affectionately.
"I recognize these rompers," Piper said surprised, "I thought about buying them for Chris." She had fallen into parent-talking-to-parent mode.
"I sent my secretary to buy the clothes for Grace. I have no idea about sizes, fitting colours and all," Cole said, relieved that his diversion had worked.
"Which man knows this anyway?" Piper asked rhetorically. Wyatt was eagerly looking towards the baby in Cole's arms.
"Ba, ba." Wyatt reached with his small arms towards the baby. Finally there was something interesting in his field of vision.
"Yes Wyatt, you are right that's a baby over there, just like Chris. But this is a girl. Look at the nice little Teddy Bear at her rompers," Piper talked concentrated to her son, not looking at Grace.
"Dagon!" Wyatt howled indignantly, "Dagon, dagon!" How could his mother not see that the picture on the clothes of the baby was no Teddy Bear? He got all exited and started kicking with his arms and legs.
"Wyatt," Piper called him to order, "What's the problem honey?" She didn't understand why he got so excited about a Teddy Bear. Normally he didn't like them at all.
"Could you just show him the Teddy Bear, Cole?" Piper asked, "Maybe he calms down."
"I think he wants to see the dragon," Cole answered, changing Grace's position so she sat on his lap, her back leant against him, the emblem on the rompers clearly visible to Wyatt and Piper.
"Oh my God!" Piper shrieked, "What in heavens name is that?"
"Dagon, dagon," Wyatt cooed happily watching the emblem.
The emblem on the rompers showed no Teddy Bear. It showed a black green dragon with a spiked back, two heads, fiery red eyes, the deadly claws ready to strike, the long tail circled around the body. Not a picture suitable for a baby and very realistic.
"What happened to the Teddy Bear?" Piper asked faintly, "when I saw it in the shop there was a nice brown Teddy Bear on it."
"Yeah I changed it a bit," Cole admitted sheepishly, "I mean you need something to do through the long nights when she is teething and you don't get any sleep at all. Besides she must not be afraid of any of these creatures. I figured if she sees them from the beginning they won't scare her when she comes across them in real life." Cole laid out his upbringing approach to Piper.
Piper just shook her head. "No magic Wyatt," Piper eyed her son," you don't want to make mommy sad, do you?" Wyatt shook his head dutifully.
When Piper turned to Cole she said, "Wyatt loves dragons. He once conjured one. We had big troubles getting rid of it again."
Cole looked disbelieving at Wyatt. "He can conjure dragons?" The kid was a hell more powerful than he had imagined.
"Don't ask," Piper cut him short pulling a face, "You don't wanna know."
"How do you keep his magic in check?" Coles asked intrigued. That was a question that had already bothered him regarding his daughter.
"With love and consistency," Piper answered proudly, "We only have minor problems now. He understands by now that magic in public and with strangers is bad. And conjuring dragons is very bad," Piper addressed her son again. Wyatt nodded his head obediently.
"Piper, you looked at Grace. Do you think my daughter is evil?" Cole asked changing the subject.
Piper threw another glance at Grace, who smiled in her direction, watching Wyatt attentively. Grace couldn't be evil. She was just an innocent baby. Piper estimated her age around 6 months.
"I guess not, not now," Piper said haltingly, "but what's the point?"
"The point is I don't want her to grow up only knowing the demonic way like I did. I don't want her to be trained as a demon. I want her to have a good and happy life. I don't want her to do evil. I want her to know good, to be good. To make the right decisions." Cole tried to get back to the important part of their conversation.
"With you as a father?" It was out before Piper could stop herself.
Cole chose to ignore the remark, "Probably I'm not the best role model for that, I know it. And that's why I wanted to ask if you can help me out."
"Help out with what exactly?" Piper wasn't sure where Cole was going.
"For one, she is a girl. There will be a time in her life, when there are things she wouldn't want to share with her Daddy. And I want her to have a woman she trusts, a good person she can turn to," Cole explained.
"Go on," Piper encouraged. She was impressed how Cole was looking out for his daughter. But then, he had always been anticipatory.
Coles exhaled relieved. Finally Piper had started listening to him.
"As for the demons coming after me. It is not said that I can fend them all off forever. Maybe eventually they'll get to me. Grace needs someone who will take her in if something happens to me. Someone who can handle a magical child. Since you can handle Wyatt – you wouldn't have a problem with her. She will be not a quarter as powerful as he is."
Cole looked at Piper hopefully. "You have two boys, Piper, don't you sleep calmer knowing that your sisters or Leo will still be there for them even if something happens to you?"
Piper just nodded, thinking of the time she hadn't dared leave the house because of leaving newborn Wyatt alone.
"What are Grace's powers?" Piper asked. She wouldn't consider the whole thing if Grace was potentially dangerous to her sons.
"I don't know yet," Cole admitted, "she didn't show anything till now. But I don't think that she will be very powerful since her mother was a human."
"But YOU are her father," Piper reminded him, "and you have a hell a lot of powers."
"Well we will have to wait and see," Cole answered shrugging.
"You are asking a lot," Piper stated. "Where do you think you get the right to do so?" Piper asked indignantly, "just because you once seduced my sister in marrying you, you think you are still part of the family?" She shot at him. At the same time she was a little bit flattered that Cole thought she could teach his daughter how to be good.
"Piper, I'm not asking it for me. I'm asking you to help me protect this innocent girl. If it's easier for you, don't think of her as my daughter. Think of her as a little baby, who will surely be the target of demon attacks in the future. You can help save her from evil," Cole pleaded.
He felt Piper was slipping away. For some time he had thought he had her on his side.
"It's sneaky to call her an innocent," Piper growled, "You know I can't turn my back on that."
"Piper, all I ask is that you seriously think about it. If you can't do it, I'll have to accept it. But at least I have to try, you have to understand that." Cole sounded defeated.
"As if you are the person to accept a no," Piper snorted.
"I didn't approach her in the last 1,5 years," Cole defended flaring up. He knew Piper was talking about Phoebe.
"I'll have to think about it. And in the unlikely case I go for it, also my sisters have to agree. And Leo. And to be honest Cole, I don't think Paige or Phoebe will be thrilled about it."
"You are really going to consider it?" Coles asked astonished.
"Don't act so surprised Cole. You planned it. Showing me your cute little girl. Talking about parenting and innocents. You expected me to agree, didn't you?"
"I hoped that being a mother, you can understand my concern," Cole admitted, "but I wasn't sure. I know we still have issues."
"Issues is the understatement of the year," Piper hissed.
"I have one condition. If you fail to comply with this I'm not even considering anything we talked about," Piper issued an ultimatum.
"I'm listening," Cole said, curious what she was onto.
"You don't go after Phoebe again. You stay away from her. You don't even talk or look at her. She is over you and I can't allow you to hurt her again. If this arrangement should have the slightest chance to work out – there must not be any trouble between you and Phoebe."
Cole looked at Grace for some time. His expression was tense. Piper knew she was demanding the ultimate sacrifice from him. But so did he. He wanted her and her family to forgive everything and take his child with open arms. It implied that he was back in their lives. He had to bleed for their sacrifice too.
Cole looked back at Piper, his face unreadable. "Agreed," he confirmed, kissing Grace on the back of the head tenderly. Piper nodded, satisfied. She appreciated that he put his daughter's security over his own desires.
Cole had learnt to live with the loss and sorrow by now. Besides, Phoebe had moved on with that guy. There was no point in hanging onto this stupid hope that she would somehow change her mind.
"Piper, do you want to be the godmother of my daughter?" Cole asked out of the blue.
"What?" Piper shrieked, "now you are getting cocky! Even for your measures."
"Come on Piper," he pleaded with her, "The things I asked. They are just what a godmother does. By accepting it, you would just put some official legal status to it. For the case something happens with me. If you don't have a legal connection, Grace could still end up in an orphanage."
"That was your aim all the time," Piper spat at Cole getting loud, "you insidious bastard."
Some heads at the playground turned in their direction and Piper tried to calm herself down.
"Bata," Wyatt repeated happily. He liked it when his mother said some forbidden words, "Bata, bata."
"I hope you're not teaching my daughter these words." Cole was amused. "I'd prefer her to call me Daddy."
"Don't push it Cole," Piper warned heatedly and then softly to her son, "no Wyatt, that's not a good word. Mummy was just a little bit upset."
"Why are you so angry at me for asking?" Cole asked, "I thought it's an honour to be asked to be godmother?"
"Normally Cole it is," Piper clarified, "Normally you ask someone you like to be the godparent." Piper held up her hand to silence Cole when he tried to say something, "and normally the person you ask likes you too."
"I understand," Cole said, and Piper had the impression to hear a hint of hurt in his voice, "will you still consider it?"
Piper put Wyatt back in the pram and got up.
"I'll call you when I have decided what to do," Piper informed Cole businesslike, "where can I reach you? Living at the penthouse again?"
"Yeah, it's still mine." Cole handed her his business card. "For the Mobil phone number."
Piper took it and put in her purse, said goodbye to Cole and left. Wyatt leant out of the pram and waved back at Cole and Grace. Cole showed Grace how to wave back and laughed when she moved her arms in all directions but not steadily left and right.
"I think we did pretty well," he told his daughter satisfied. "Piper seems to like you. I hope she can convince her sisters to give you a chance."
tbc