A/N: A big THANK YOU to all readers who reviewed.- big smile - I do see many hits on the story but sadly only very few take time to leave a small review. Therefore I'd like to encourage all who read and like itbut didn'tspeak up yet tosay so -wink- To those who reviewed- your reviews make me really happy and encourage me to write down the others ideas that are already bubbling in my head. But first, let's go on with this story.

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Rekindling an old flame

"I knew you had a relapse to your Cole addiction when you bid on him," Piper scoffed. She was sitting on Phoebe's bed and watched her sister rummaging in her cupboard.

"I do not," Phoebe retorted, buried in her cupboard, "I already explained it to you. I somehow tapped into my empathic power."

"Yeah, and how could that happen?" Paige asked suspiciously. She was sitting at Phoebe's dress table, polishing her nails.

"I don't know." Phoebe straightened up and turned with a dress in her hand. "But Leo explained it to Piper."

"Yeah he did," Piper agreed, "But I wasn't able to make head or tails out of it. The elders said something about how they can't take a power away completely once they gave it to a witch." Piper shrugged. "Something like raising the bar for tapping into the power so high, that theoretically you can't access it."

"Well I'm practically example that it is possible," Phoebe pouted, "Couldn't do it since then though. What do you think of this?" She held the dress high.

"Forget it," Paige dismissed it, "it practically screams pull me to the shrubs and rip it off."

"Really?" Phoebe looked at the dress impressed. She made a mental note to wear it for her next important date with a guy.

"Paige is right," Piper sided with her youngest sister, "definitely NOT the right attire to meet Cole."

"Ok, let your power take the blame for the bidding." Paige didn't let go of the topic. "But what about the dance? The way you pressed yourself against him was surely x-rated," Paige complained, "I was surprised he didn't pull you down on the spot."

"Paige!" Piper admonished, and Paige gave her a what?-stare.

"It was kind of an emergency," Phoebe defended, "Jason practically stood me up on the dance floor and left. Cole was there just in time. Besides I couldn't likely have stood up the guy I bid on. People were watching me."

"I can see a pattern there," Piper smirked, "Cole just being there and you not having another choice. If there hadn't been his female colleague who obviously wanted to hit on him, you wouldn't have let go."

Piper had to hide an amused grin remembering the scene. She had gone to Phoebe to tell her that they were heading home. Phoebe hadn't been pleased about it. And while Phoebe had been arguing with Piper, a woman had crept up to Cole and pulled him away for a dance. Cole hadn't resisted and Phoebe had been sulking all the way home.

"While we talk about it, why are you attending this dinner with him? I remember you told us you wouldn't call in the evening you won?" Piper still disagreed with Phoebe on going out with Cole.

Phoebe put the dress back in the drawer. "I want to keep my job. The Bay Mirror is doing the reporting about this whole welfare event including interviews and shots of the bachelor's evenings out. Elise was very adamant that I don't bail out of it." She had found another dress. "What about this?"

"Do you want your readers to think you are a crazy chick stuck in the seventies?" Paige asked looking at the flowery summer dress disbelievingly.

"Don't you have a decent business costume?" Piper asked, "I thought every business woman has one? I have plenty of them. I could lend you one," she offered.

"Well I'm not the costume type," Phoebe said, "what about this?" She had found another dress.

"Too dressed down. I think you are going to a very exquisite restaurant. You need something more posh," Paige advised.

Phoebe sighed and put it back again. "It looks like I don't have the right thing and it's too late to buy something. Maybe we better try another approach. What should the outfit say?" Phoebe turned to her sisters with a questioning expression.

"Well," Piper suggested, "something like, we are only friends and this is not a date but business."

"Sounds good to me," Paige supported Piper's idea.

"Ok," Phoebe said unsure, "but I'm not sure I can find something like this in my drawer. Normally I go for something like hey I'm the most stunning woman you ever dated." She turned again and browsed through her clothes, when the doorbell rang. Phoebe looked up bewildered. "Mike said he would pick me up at 7 sharp." She wondered.

"Its already 7.30 honey," Paige discovered, "and who is Mike?"

"Shit," Phoebe cursed, frantically shoving clothes from one side to the other. "He is our photographer. Elise told me he will pick me up, so that I don't have an excuse for not appearing. Could one of you keep him company till I'm ready?"

"I'll do it," Piper volunteered. Phoebe going through her stuff could take hours. She preferred to find out more about the shooting for the Bay Mirror. "Paige, don't let her take something provocative," she ordered before she left Phoebe's room.

"What about this?" Phoebe asked desperately, turning to Paige with another dress.

"If you were going to a beach party it would be great," Paige joked and Phoebe put the little yellow dress back grumpily.

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Phoebe scrambled down the stairs. It was 8.30. Finally she had found something Paige had approved of and she was comfortable with. It was a long, tight black skirt (from Piper), with a white blouse with puffed sleeves (Phoebe's). The blouse's collar was closed with a gimp. If you loosened the cord you could let the shoulders of the blouse slip down over your shoulders. Phoebe liked the blouse. It made a playful sexy impression. Normally. At the moment the cord was very tight, showing no neckline or shoulders at all. Very boring. Above the blouse Phoebe had a multicoloured silk plaid (from Paige) around her shoulders. It looked classy and serious. Paige had helped her pin up her hair to a loose knot. Some strands framing her face. She heard Piper's voice from the living room and hurried in this direction.

Phoebe entered the living room, "Sorry Mike I'm late," she babbled before she entered the room fully.

"Some things never change," Cole answered as he stood up. He had been sitting at the couch with Piper. Cole was dressed very conservatively. He wore a black suit with white dress shirt and a red tie.

Phoebe stopped dead in her tracks. "Where is Mike?" she asked dumbfounded. "You were not supposed to pick me up."

"When Elise discovered you wouldn't be on time, she asked me to pick you up, so that Mike could arrange for the shooting at the spot." Cole shrugged his shoulders, "by the way, you look…", he searched for words for a moment.

"What?" Phoebe pouted. Cole not complimenting her outfit was very unusual.

"Serious. I can't remember a date when you wore more fabric than me," Cole teased, "but I guess it's a first time for everything."

Phoebe shot him a look. "That is because we are not having a date." She set him straight. "This is business."

"Right," Cole agreed smugly, "I'm doing it for welfare and you?"

"I want to keep my job," Phoebe sulked, "by the way," she looked at Piper reproachfully, "why didn't you tell me it wasn't Mike?"

"Didn't want to delay the decision process any further," Piper grinned.

"What were you talking about?" Paige asked. When she had entered the room with Phoebe, Cole and Piper had seemed rather comfy sitting at the couch having coffee and biscuits together.

"I was curious how Cole holds up as a district attorney," Piper answered truthfully. "Wanted to know if Darryl already freaked out about it."

"I think we should be going," Cole hinted, looking at his watch and taking his coat from the couch.

"Yes," Phoebe grumbled and took her coat and bag too. Cole opened the door and waited for her to go through before him.

"Don't be too late Pheebs," Piper called after her sister, "Paige and I will wait up till you are back." She wanted to make clear to both that Phoebe was expected home this evening. Phoebe waved back and then they were gone.

"I just hope Phoebe doesn't do anything stupid," Piper lamented, staring at the closed door. Paige went to her sister and laid her arm on Piper's shoulder.

"Phoebe, not doing anything imprudently? When did this ever happen when Cole was concerned?" Paige asked doubtfully.

"That's exactly what worries me," Piper admitted.

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The dinner was going rather troublesome. Phoebe had snapped at Cole several times on the way to the dinner, so he had reverted to a distanced silence. Phoebe herself was unnerved by his sulking and Mike got on her nerves always telling her where to look and how. Mike wasn't satisfied with the shots at all. He complained that they didn't look like they were having fun.

When Cole informed him angrily that this was exactly the point it hadn't lifted Mike's spirit. In her desperation, Sue, the interviewer, ordered some Champagne for the two. She knew that Phoebe tended to get tipsy of it. She had experienced that at office parties already. And maybe it would loosen up Mr. Turner as well. Alcohol often worked well to break the tension and Sue had to rescue her happy story.

After the second glass Phoebe became more relaxed and when they were past starters, she was smiling and chatting animatedly with Cole. Deliberately they avoided controversial topics like the Source, her boyfriends, their divorce. Mainly they talked about their work life and Phoebe told sweet stories about Wyatt and Chris, or funny ones about Paige's mishaps with magic. It didn't take long for Phoebe to ease off the ill feeling between her and Cole.

So when the main course was served, Sue and Mike were satisfied with the interview and the corresponding shots and left. From the moment Cole had picked up Phoebe from the manor there had been this repressed sexual tension between them. None of them acted on it but with the progressive evening, the walls they had built around their feelings, slowly crumbled.

When the restaurant closed, Phoebe was in no mood to go home. Being with Cole was easy and fun. She felt she could truly be herself. Phoebe remembered why Cole was so special to her. He made her feel vibrant and alive. She persuaded Cole finally to go to this new nightclub. Cole was happy that they were getting along now and agreed wholeheartedly. He wasn't ready to let Phoebe go so soon. He rejoiced in Phoebe's presence and the way she looked at him this evening.

The club was packed and a long queue waited at the entrance. Phoebe had already queued up when Cole pulled her around a corner. He didn't bother waiting to be let in. He blurred them right into the club without waiting for her consent. They appeared at a dark corner and Phoebe looked scandalized at him. He just smiled at her roguishly and forced his way through the crowd towards the bar, Phoebe trailing after him.

They gained a place at the long bar and ordered their drinks. Phoebe enjoyed the atmosphere and swayed to the music. Since it was very hot in the room and her sisters weren't anywhere near and Cole was, she took off the plaid and released the cord from her blouse, which now slid down some inches over her shoulders. She didn't miss Cole's appreciative glance when she did so.

There were so many people that they could hardly move. When the second guy pushed Phoebe so hard she almost let her glass slip to the ground, Cole had enough. He positioned himself right behind her – she was sitting on a barstool, her back towards Cole – and pressed his hands against the counter left and right of her. By this his back and arms shielded her from the surge of people. Cole was keeping the others off their patch unyieldingly. Phoebe smiled pleasantly at this.

One thing about Cole that never changed was his protectiveness towards her. Besides it was almost like he embraced her. It was unavoidable that his body brushed against her from time to time, when he got pushed in the back. She didn't mind this at all - far from it! She lent her head back and he bent down to be able to hear what she was saying.

"Always my knight," she teased looking up at him.

"Can't help it," he answered softly, his eyes displaying very much affection.

His look gave Phoebe the heebie-jeebies. She straightened up quickly. She was skating on thin ice. There was no point in raising his hopes again. She felt bad for doing so. She reached for her glass and drank up in one gulp.

Cole watched her back off. The whole evening he had contained his feelings for her quite well. Just now he had slipped for a second and she got afraid.

Phoebe turned to him. "You better take me home. I don't want to piss off Piper and Paige."

"Sure," he agreed. He knew he had wrecked it. Phoebe wasn't ready for his feelings.

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On the way home they didn't talk much. Both seemed lost in their own thoughts. Besides, there was not much to say. Their common evening came to an end and both knew there wouldn't be another. Cole stopped his car in front of the Manor. It was far past midnight but there was still light in the Manor. Phoebe's sisters were probably waiting for her.

Phoebe got ready to get off the car but then felt a strange sensation of déjà vu. Solely driven by her feelings and not thinking about it for a second she lent over to Cole and kissed him sensually on the lips. The moment their lips connected to a hesitant but sweet kiss all good intentions were swept away by their long suppressed passion for each other. They were sitting in his car sharing another of several very passionate kisses. Phoebe broke the kiss but stayed with her face just millimetres from his, "Take me to your place."

Her voice was but a mere whisper, big brown eyes glittering and promising. Her hand was delicately creeping up his thigh. Phoebe couldn't stand it any longer, her whole body craved for him.

"Your sisters," Cole answered hoarsely, fighting the urge to follow her lead and blur them right to his apartment. They wouldn't make it to the bed.

"I don't care. They don't need to know," Phoebe retorted breathlessly. She couldn't care less about her sisters at the moment. Being with Cole was breathtaking, it was intoxicating, it was…simply being with him.

"They will blame me again," Cole answered, catching her hand at his belt. Somehow the mentioning of her sisters had disturbed his mood. Or maybe had brought him back to his senses. He wouldn't go down this road again.

Phoebe was worked up and not about to give up on him. "We are adults Cole, we don't need anyone's approval for anything."

She lent forward again and kissed him, purposefully shattering his resistance with her passion. Cole lost himself for a snatch in this perfect moment. Then he broke the kiss unwillingly and took both of her hands in his. He looked at her and Phoebe was surprised by the look of determination on his face. What had happened? Seconds before he had been defenceless in her arms. Cole struggled hard to tell her what needed to be told, stroking her hands with his thumbs pleadingly.

"I have to consider Grace, Phoebe. It's not about only you and me anymore. I have a daughter. I have responsibility for her. I can't shirk out of that."

His last words were almost not audible. He let go of her hands and quickly got out of the car, his determination only a hairbreadth from collapsing. He closed the car door and lent against it from outside. Cole took some deep breaths in the cold night air. Luckily he had come to his senses in time. Piper and Paige would have gone ballistic towards him. All efforts he made during the last months would have been for nothing. They would have kicked him and Grace out, without a second thought.

Phoebe sat in her seat dumbfounded. She was disappointed and angry. She had already pictured a very satisfying night with Cole in her mind. Furthermore she felt offended because he had rebuffed her. Some years ago she would have jumped from the car, insulting him and running for the shelter of the manor. But she had changed over the last year, and she had grown. She wouldn't act only on her emotions. She had to use her brain too.

Phoebe clutched her hands together trying to understand. She had been the one who started the flirting. She knew just how to break his defences down and had enjoyed every second of it. She knew him too well. He had tried to stay cool, but to no avail. She could still wrap him around her little finger. She smiled at this thought.

He had realigned his priorities, Phoebe became aware. His first priority wasn't her anymore, it was his daughter. She couldn't be mad at him for that. It was the right thing to do. It was what she herself expected of a good parent. It seemed Cole had changed. He took into consideration how his actions concerned other people's lives. He had come a long way since she first met him. She should be proud of him.

Phoebe watched him go along the car and took a deep breath. Her anger disappeared and left only a numb sadness. There were always reasons that stood against them. This time it was a noble one like the security of his daughter. Let alone her sisters' continued refusal of him.

Cole walked around the car very slowly. It was better to give Phoebe some more time to cool down. But she was probably furious at him anyway. With a sigh he opened her door and offered his hand to help her out. To his surprise she took his hand with a forced but small smile. They walked up to the manor in silence next to each other.

Cole and Phoebe stopped at the front porch and the silence became awkward. Phoebe shuffled her feet. Normally if it was a successful date, there would be the good night kiss now. And until 5 minutes ago it had been very successful.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening Cole. I hadn't so much fun since…" she thought about it, it had probably been with Jason. "...in a long time."

She smiled up at him shyly, dying for just one more kiss. He was about to answer something when the door opened suddenly.

"I thought you'd never come in," Paige peered through the door slit.

She planned to interrupt whatever was going on at the front porch. Piper and she had waited for Phoebe to come back. They had noticed Cole's car standing in front of the manor for some time.

"I was just about to come in, ok Paige?" Phoebe said shiftily, "You know I'm NOT a teenager. Phoebe saw Piper standing not far behind looking suspiciously at her. Her lipstick was probably blurred.

Cole decided it was time to back off. "I better get going," he said, "I have a hard day at court tomorrow. Good night Phoebe, Paige."

He nodded towards the girls and swiftly headed for his car. That had been a near thing. One step further and he would have damaged all civility he had managed to build up with Piper and Paige.

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tbc
Ok, you didn't assume the reconciliation would be that easy? Still I hope the Phoebe&Cole fans had a good time with this chapter. I surely had writing it.