A/N: The Halliwells try to adjust to the fact that Cole is around again.
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New relations
Some weeks later.
Cole had just left the Manor heading for a court appointment. Piper closed the door behind him and hurried back to the sun room. She was seething and about to give Phoebe a piece of her mind.
"Are you deliberately making me look like a fool?" she hissed towards Phoebe.
Phoebe was sitting on the couch, smiling happily and bouncing Grace on her lap.
"Ahem Piper, I don't know what you mean?" Phoebe defended looking surprised at her older sister. "What has bitten you?"
"This is the third time you show up surprisingly when Cole comes over to leave Grace with me," Piper accused, stopping next to the couch, glowering at Phoebe.
"So?" Phoebe asked innocently looking up at her sister, but not stopping the bouncing. Grace giggled in delight and Phoebe made some baby voices towards her.
"I purposely choose times for his visits when you are most likely at the office. I do this to spare you and him the inconvenience of running into each other. Looks like you don't appreciate it," Piper said heatedly, her hands crossed over her chest.
Phoebe looked a little bit guilty. "I just really like to take care of Grace. She is with us seldom enough. And I can handle seeing Cole from time to time. It's no big deal for me." In truth Phoebe counted the days until Cole would bring Grace by again and she was able to have a look at him. To her disturbance he never paid much attention to her, rather fled the room as soon as she approached.
"Come on Phoebe, don't lie to me, I know you. I'm your big sister remember?"
"What are you implying Piper?" Phoebe shot back, getting angry herself. She stopped bouncing Grace and cuddled the baby in her arms.
"You stopped speed dating the day we decided I was going to be Grace's godmother. And you managed to be here almost every single time Cole stopped by to bring her over. I think you are trying to replace your own little girl from your premonition with Grace instead of getting on with your own life and having your own kids." Piper attacked Phoebe directly.
Phoebe got up, placing Grace on her hip. "So what if I do? I don't see any problem with it. The girl has no mother. Do you fear the competition with me mothering her too?" Phoebe said nastily. She hadn't told anyone that in her premonition Grace had called her mommy.
"You are being ridiculous, Phoebe, and you know it," Piper spat. She wasn't going to battle about who was the better Mum for Cole's daughter.
Phoebe looked hurt at her sister and Piper tried to calm down. With a quieter voice she said, "Could you stop thinking of yourself for a moment, Phoebe? Have you ever thought about what Cole is bound to think when you show up every time he is here? Don't you think he gets his hopes up again? Do you want to have him stalk you again?" Piper tried to understand why her sister was doing it.
"I didn't look at it that way," Phoebe admitted in her little girl's voice, "Do you think he still cares for me? I mean he has a baby from someone else and all."
Piper could hear the hope in Phoebe's question. Her sister really was unreasonable.
"That's a question you would have to ask him," Piper said evasively, "but why would you want to know? You told us you are not pondering going back to him." Piper wanted to straighten this point out at least.
"Just because I won't get together with my ex demon husband from hell again, doesn't mean I can't meet him in our house, or I can't look after his daughter, your goddaughter," Phoebe said loudly, "I'm part of this family too, as is she. That's why I want to spend time with her."
"I just don't want you to get as obsessed with Grace as you were with the speed dating," Piper said concerned, "If you are sure it's not like that, than it's ok for me. But at least you have to be honest with yourself, Phoebe."
"I'm ok," Phoebe assured.
"By the way Cole insists to be called a magician now, not a demon," Piper said casually.
"Come again?" Phoebe was flabbergasted.
"I had an extensive discussion with Cole about him being a demon," Piper explained. "He pointed out having demonic powers doesn't make him a demon. I contradicted it, but for the slick lawyer he is he argued for so long, in the end I had to agree he was right," Piper said contritely and flopped on the couch. She was relieved the quarrel between her and Phoebe had diminished.
"When did you spend this extensive time with Cole?" Phoebe asked suspiciously, sitting down beside her sister and looking at her attentively. She had an uneasy feeling in the stomach about Cole and Piper meeting without anybody of the family knowing about it.
"At the playground," Piper told her lightly not catching up on Phoebe's suspicion, "I feel much safer going there with Wyatt and Chris when Cole accompanies me. I mean it's a fact he is this powerful magician. And it's much easier to handle 3 kids with 2 adults. Besides, it's not like he has much social life besides work as far as I know."
Phoebe shook her head as Piper mentioned "magician" again. Cole obviously had convinced Piper on this term.
"Why don't you go to the playground with Leo?" Phoebe asked cautiously, "I'm sure he would love to spend some time with his boys."
She knew that the relationship between Piper and Leo hadn't been the best in the time after the Avatar incident. The two pretty much avoided each other or found excuses for not spending time together. It was either one or the other taking the kids out, but seldom together as a pair.
"He is always out on whitelighter business," Piper said blasé. "Besides someone has to protect Cole from all the single-mums running around." Piper grinned. "He really got vexed with them being after him every time he shows up there."
Phoebe could picture that easily. She remembered the day in the park when she had seen Cole accidentally.
"Why don't you ask me or Paige?" Phoebe asked, "We love to be with you and the kids."
"Phoebe, you both have your jobs. I'm mostly free in the afternoons, before P3 opens. Cole's appointments are mostly in the morning, so he is often free in the afternoon too. Besides he really needs some help with the parenting thing. Poor Grace would live with little devils, dragons, demons and the like as toys if I didn't talk some sense into him."
Piper smiled at herself for caring for Grace's undisturbed childhood. She had a quarrel with Cole about a Teddy bear she had bought for Grace, which Cole had turned into an Ogre.
"Why didn't you tell us you are meeting Cole on a regular basis outside the Manor?" Phoebe asked. She swore to herself to talk with Leo. Piper meeting Cole regularly with the kids involved wasn't a good sign.
"Do you have a problem with it Phoebe? You are not being jealous?" Piper finally became irritated by Phoebe's consistent demand.
"No," Phoebe lied, "but it would have been nice if you told us that you see Cole more often. Just to keep us informed, you know. So we know where to find you if we need to."
She didn't like the thought of Cole and Piper being all buddy-buddy, but what could she do?
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Three Girls out"Where are we driving to?" Piper asked impatiently.
"It's a surprise Piper, you'll see when we are there," Paige said turning to Piper from the front seat of the taxi.
"Must be some kind of party, the way Paige made us dress," Phoebe speculated.
Paige had insisted they needed some sister quality time and had arranged for Leo to look after the boys while the girls went out.
"You'll love it," Paige promised. She had had a hard time, convincing her sisters to go out, all three of them, "How long has it been since we've been out together?"
"It's not so long ago Paige, we were at P3 last week," Piper said.
"That doesn't count," Paige said, "P3 is practically home for us. When we are there at least you work and often Phoebe and I help too. Besides we already know almost all men who attend P3 regularly."
"No problem for me," Piper quipped, "I'm married, two kids, no dog, thank you. No need for a new man."
"Lucky you," Phoebe said, "but if you haven't noticed, your two younger sisters had a little shortage of men lately."
"Definitely!" Paige agreed, "But this evening ladies, we will have our fair share."
The taxi came to a stop before the town hall. It was lit up with several floodlights. Many taxis were coming and going, spitting out people who entered into the town hall.
"The town hall?" Phoebe asked, "I thought we were going to some kind of posh club or something?"
"That's far better. It's a real ball with dance, dinner, artists, auction…," Paige rambled, "and it's also for charity. Which means we are doing a good deed here. The earned money from the whole evening goes to St. Mary's children's hospital. The tickets are unaffordable, but a friend of a friend works for the ball committee and we got it cheaper. But still I raided the bank for it."
"You shouldn't have," Piper interrupted. She new how short Paige was on money lately with fulltime witch and working at magical school.
"Its ok Piper, it will be worth it. An evening only for us three. I think we earned it."
"Bravo to that," Phoebe wholeheartedly agreed.
Paige paid the taxi driver and the got out and they entered the building, looking around at the other guests.
"I'm glad I took my stylish cocktail dress," Piper said, "All people are really dressed very elegant." Piper wore a very nice dark blue cocktail dress, that went just below the knee.
"I totally agree Piper," Phoebe said, "the guys here are not too bad." She sent a cheeky smile at a passing stranger. "I'm thankful you convinced me to wear my sexy red dress, Paige." Phoebe's dress was very long, very glamorous and a very bright red in colour. It had a deep neckline and showed a lot of her back.
"Your welcome," Paige said shaking her red mane and drawing some glances. "Time to show off my new white ball dress." Paige's outfit was a vibrant white shade, several layers of lace cascading down to the ground.
When they had put their cloaks to the checkroom the waiter showed them to their table. The hall of the town hall was decorated with flowers and banners.
"It's beautiful. Never thought the places of political administration could look that nice," Paige wondered, looking around.
"It's not so nice if you have to queue for hours to get a passport," Piper threw in.
"Hey Darryl," Phoebe exclaimed, "you are here too? What a surprise. Hi Sheila."
"Phoebe, hi, well it's not such a big surprise. It was me who told Paige about this special event. It's really a once in a lifetime chance to get into this. The tickets were sold out for months."
The girls greeted Darryl and his wife. "You are wearing your gala uniform," Piper noticed.
Darryl beamed with pride. "It still fits after 15 years."
He pulled his wife closer. Sheila rolled her eyes good-naturedly to her husband's boasting. The girls giggled.
"But there are still some free places," Phoebe noticed, "Do you know who else will share the table with us?"
"Yeah some of my colleagues. Very nice mates, all single." He winked towards Phoebe and Paige.
"Did you arrange that?" Phoebe asked Paige with acted reproachfulness.
"No, I guess Darryl came up with this idea on his own," Paige turned to Darryl, pulling up an eyebrow.
"Well, the pals are nice as you are girls. I thought we would have a fun evening."
"No protest to that," Phoebe said as they all settled around the table.
"Hey only the married couples sit together," Darryl advised laughing, "you leave some space for the guys between you."
"If it's ordered from the police, we have to follow it," Paige gave in smiling.
The sisters resettled so that Piper set next to Darryl, Darryl next to Sheila, then they left a free place, then there sat Paige, another free place, Phoebe, another free place and then Piper.
"Girls listen, I have some rules to give out for the evening," Paige announced. Darryl and Sheila watched in amusement as Paige stated her rules to her stunned sisters.
"Rules?" Phoebe asked, "Who needs rules for a night out?"
"Rule number one," Paige continued undisturbed, "no talking about magic. Might scare the guys away. Rule number two: No talking about exes. Might also scare the guys away AND spoil us the evening. I want us to have fun, get to know NEW people, not stick with the past – therefore no talking about ex-husbands, ex-boyfriends and the like." She especially emphasized the ex-husband.
"Why would someone like to talk about an ex-husband on an evening like this?" Phoebe asked not totally rhetorically, acting like she didn't realize the hint from Paige.
"Exactly my point," Paige pinpointed.
"I see no point to disagree," Piper smiled, "May I add, no talk about husbands too?" But seeing Darryl's questioning face, "present ones excluded of course."
"You're welcome," Paige allowed.
"Fine, then let's see the menu, I'm starving," Phoebe said reaching for the menu.
They were having a great time. Darryl's colleagues, Nick, Robert and Alan, were nice guys and the girls were having fun. The dinner was great, even Piper had to approve of it. They were already on the third bottle of chardonnay when the dinner was finished. They began to feel a little bit light-headed. A nice night out without any demon interruptions was really a rare thing.
A real terrific big band was playing and there were some couples dancing. Phoebe had already danced with all three of the guys and Paige was working on catching up. She twisted with Nick on the dance floor at the moment. Piper held herself back a bit. She had a slightly bad conscience for leaving Leo home with the kids and she herself was dancing with other men. But Leo would understand. So it needed only a little persuasion from Sheila, Paige and Phoebe and she was on the dance floor with Alan. Darryl and Sheila risked some dances too, but Darryl was no enthusiastic dancer. They were all taking a break at the table when the music died out and someone stepped onto the stage.
Though perplexed, Phoebe recognized him immediately. It was Jason. He was giving a speech about how the Bay Mirror supported the case of the Children's hospital and all. It looked like the Bay Mirror was the main sponsor of the event. Phoebe hadn't known and was very furious about it. Why didn't anyone at the office tell her that? Jason also announced that for charity there would be an auction of four eligible bachelors, hosted by Elise. Phoebe almost spit her wine over the table when Elise entered the stage.
"Poor bachelors," she snorted with laughter, "they won't now what hit them when Elise starts to catechize them." She lent forward to listen attentively to the announcement of the bachelors. Elise seemed to enjoy her grand entrance.
"In the spirit of public services supporting each other," Elise started, "the following organisation have each named one bachelor. The St. Mary's hospital appointed one of their doctors, the SFPD sent one from their officers, the SF fire brigade sent a fire-fighter and the SF courthouse appointed one of their district attorneys. So I guess we have something for every taste here. The bachelor will take the winner of the auction out for a formidable evening at the Grand Sea View Restaurant. You may ask the gentleman about their work they do for the city. Please ladies don't be shy! You are bidding for a very good cause and you are going to have a very pleasant evening with the gentleman you select."
There were some cheers from the audience and Elise kept talking on about it for some minutes, but the attention of the Charmed Ones was lost.
"I just hope it's not Greg," Piper groaned.
"Piper please, rule number two!" Paige reminded her.
Piper looked irritated at Paige, "You take this rule thing a little too seriously, Sis."
"Come on Piper, it worked out well for us until now. I'm sure we don't know one of the bachelors. But maybe we should bid on them. Phoebe, what do you think?"
"I'm done with lawyers," Phoebe started, when Paige interrupted, "Rule number.."
"I know, ok," Phoebe said appeasing. "We could take a chance with the doctor or the fire-fighter." She threw a knowing look towards Piper who blushed slightly. "Personally fire-fighters in their heavy uniforms, all dirty, sweaty and muscles…" Phoebe got distracted in her musing.
"Phoebe, enough. You are embarrassing our company," Piper demanded looking at Nick, Alan and Robert.
They looked at Phoebe with an expression that said they didn't want to hear any more details about what parts of the male body Phoebe was fantasizing about.
"Sorry guys," Phoebe smiled sheepishly, "I just had to live on fantasy for some time."
"Over sharing," Paige interrupted Phoebe quickly, "Hey here comes the uncle doc. I have to say, he looks hot."
The heads of the girls turned to the stage where the first bachelor was at Elise's mercy.
In the next half hour, bachelor after bachelor talked with Elise about himself and Phoebe was positively surprised that Elise didn't make a fool out of them. Far from it! She talked so nicely with the guys that every single one got high bids and the audience was very satisfied with the show. Phoebe and Paige bid for all three of them, but had to give up at the amount of money some women were very willing to spend for a night out. Or charity. However you put it.
"Honestly I didn't think that such an auction would be so much fun," Piper conceded, "They found really nice and handsome guys for the auction. But the doctor would have preferred to go out with you Paige, rather than with the old hag who won him. The way he looked at you…"
"It's for a good cause," Paige said lightly. "She is probably a very rich woman and if he plays his cards right, she will give an even higher donation to his hospital after the dinner invitation. Besides, who says I can't drop by at the hospital sometime? I know his name," Paige said with a conspiratorial look.
"You are a bad girl," Phoebe scolded playfully.
"Yeah, but they go everywhere," Paige winked at Phoebe.
"I'm really curious who the court has appointed," Darryl said with a gleeful smile, "Last week I talked with one of the district attorneys and he lamented that there is no one volunteering for it. I mean if you know our district attorneys and judges, you know why. There wouldn't be a woman bidding for one them, not even for charity," he snickered.
Darryl's colleagues snickered as well. There was a competition going on between the SFPD and the courthouse, as to whose candidate was going to bring in more money. The officer had done very well so the cops where in high spirits. They turned their attention to the stage again, when Elise announced the last bachelor.
"Ladies and Gentleman, May I introduce to you bachelor number 4, your last chance to do something for charity and," she added with a mischievous smile, "for yourselves ladies. Please give a very warm welcome to assistant district attorney Cole Turner."
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tbc
So did you expect that Cole shows up there? Next Chapters will have some more Phoebe/Cole interaction ;-)