Disclaimer: The usual: Any recognizable characters don't belong to me.
Summary: Chapter #1
Author's notes: 1. I've had major writer's block with this one, brought on by the fact that I lost track of the show. But I'm gradually getting back into it again, and the DVDS are breaking it.
2. "" Dialogue, '' thoughts
3. Italics mean an email
4. 888: change of character
Chapter #11: Lessons Learned- AU
Phoebe took a couple of sips of water, and gathered her thoughts. She was shocked; the Cole Turner she knew, never would have acted this quickly, or confidently; he would have been timid- weighing everything; pro and con, and in the end he would have played it safe and either done nothing, or backed out of their deal. It was clearly not the way with this Cole; he was decisive, and confident; obviously he knew what he wanted and how to get it.
For her part, she was very uncertain. She felt an overwhelming need to protect her daughter from all the evil in the world, from magic. Since Prue died, it was a source of sadness, of tragedy- it had killed Prue, and destroyed her family; she asked herself regularly how any good could come of it; she knew that at some point she did do some good with her powers; she just wished she could remember when.
She knew as well, that magic was a part of her, and a part of her daughter's heritage, and that one day Alana would ask her why she was different; why she could see things, all her other friends couldn't; and Phoebe wouldn't say anything to her, accept to say that she was special. Phoebe also knew, that the time would come, when she'd realize that magic was a part of her; and the power of three, really did have a role to play. Maybe it had come already, and that was the reason why she made the deal with Cole.
"I'm… surprised, that you moved so quickly on this. I thought you'd take your time, make sure she's for real, that she's the one." Phoebe began the conversation. He shrugged his shoulders, non-committal:
"I know what I want, and how to get it." Phoebe narrowed her eyes:
"Does she know?"
"No. She doesn't; originally, she came here on a temp job, but she's staying to work here on a permanent basis." Cole answered. Phoebe nodded considering this latest bit of information.
"How do you know she's the right one?" Phoebe asked.
"In the other timeline, Paige meets up with you and Piper shortly after Prue's death. Believe me, when I say this Paige looks remarkably like the Paige in the other timeline." Cole responded.
"What's her background?" Phoebe asked, still doubting.
"Adopted; she grew up in a very happy home. She trained in social work, but has recently had to quit her job and take care of her dying mother. Her mother recently died, and she's back out in the workforce. She thought she'd try something new, so she signed up with a temp agency; and the rest they say is history."
" She was adopted from…"
"The catholic church near the manor. The nun that handled it is still there, and would likely remember something about it." Cole finished.
Phoebe sat back and sipped some more water; he was forcing her to question him to the point of interrogation- it had never been this hard with the Cole that she knew; he was open, and shared every last detail of what he knew. The very idea of her questioning him like that indicated to her, that perhaps he was hiding something, he could even have been making it up.
She acted on her first impulse: that he was hiding something:
"Is there anything else you want to tell me about this?" She asked. He sighed:
"There is, but you'd only believe that I'm telling the truth if you had some proof of it."
"You mean, if I start from the church." She replied, then took a deep exasperated breath:
"Cole, I don't have that kind of time; you know that- you're handling my case. To trace the adoption will take time."
Cole moved from behind his desk, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He spoke in a reassuring manner:
"It's well-worth the effort." She met his gaze, and saw the reassurance in it. She also saw a hint of confidence behind it, and that was what gave her much-needed strength. She briefly glanced at her watch, and shrugged off his hand and stood up:
"I have to go pick Alana up from daycare." Cole followed her to the door and held it, and she walked through it:
"It's okay, I can find my own way out." She hurried down the hallway without a backward glance, as she neared the door she glanced back at the receptionist; one aura had somewhat dulled, but the second was still brightly burning.
"It was nice to meet you." Paige called out, to Phoebe's disappearing back. She glanced back down at the computer screen she was typing at- a case summary for Cole.
C.O.S.: Phoebe/Piper's apartment
Phoebe stomped through the door muttering under her breath. She followed her nose to the kitchen and found Piper stirring a pot of soup on the stove, and sunk into a chair. Alana peeked her head around the corner:
"I made you a picture Auntie Piper." She presented it to Piper, who took one look at it, and at once noticed the bright colours. She bent down the level of her niece:
"That's very pretty, I'll just put it up on the fridge. Why don't you go change into your play clothes, and play with your dollies."
"Okay." Alana put her arms around Piper, who returned the hug. The little girl left and went into her room. Phoebe waited until she heard the sound of her daughter's bedroom door close before speaking.
"It was the first thing she showed me when I put her in the car seat today. I was so shocked, that I didn't quite know what to tell her. Piper she's seeing auras, and she's only 4!" Phoebe said.
"That just means she's going to powerful when she grows up. Remember; our powers were bound by the time we were that age. Of course it'll be different for her. Would you rather have her powers bound as well?" Piper patiently explained to her sister. Phoebe was silent as she thought for a moment:
"No. It was a shock when we found out that we were witches. I don't want that for her. It's just; I never wanted this for her Piper; I wanted a life free of magic of demons for her. I wanted her to grow up safe; never fearing for her life." There was a pause in the conversation, as Piper turned away from Phoebe to stir the soup. She took the wooden spoon and tasted it. She reached for the saltshaker and shook it once, then briefly stirred the pot. She turned back around to face her sister:
"How'd the meeting go today with Cole?" Piper noticed her sister's demeanour change, as Phoebe stared unfocussed ahead of her.
"What did I see in him?" Phoebe asked. Piper struggled for words:
"You were once friends; that's probably part of the attraction. It helps, that he's good-looking, and apparently successful. It's easy to fall for somebody like that."
"Yeah." Phoebe answered, her tone betraying the listlessness she felt. Piper let the silence stretch for a few moments, and then Phoebe broke it herself:
"There's a new receptionist at his office, I walked in, and took one look at her, and was immediately assaulted by visions, and auras. The aura around her was a blinding white; I managed to take a seat, and after a few seconds Cole came out and brought me back to his office. He poured me a glass of water, and between sips I questioned him about her. He told me that her name is Paige Matthews, and she's our sister." Phoebe paused to take a deep breath.
"Wow, he moves fast." Piper dryly commented.
"That's what I said too. Paige- she was adopted from a church near the manor; she grew up in a very happy home. She was a social worker, but had to quit her job in order to take care of her mother. Her mother died a few months ago, and she figured she'd try something new so she signed up with a temp agency. And that's how he found her." Phoebe finished.
Piper quickly considered the implications: the power-of three back together. She was becoming more comfortable with the idea as the days past. As much as she wanted a life that was not magical, she realized that she couldn't live her life in denial like that; it was only a matter of time before she was in a situation where either she would be tempted to use her powers; or would actually use them in defense of either herself or the innocents around her.
"We have to start at the church, and trace the adoption, find out if she's for real first. Then we go from there." Piper planned quickly.
"I haven't got that kind of time. Not with the trouble I'm in; I should be spending my time with Alana, and on my own defense." Phoebe replied. Piper took a seat in the chair opposite her, and grasped her hand:
"Phoebe, honey. I know, after all of what's happened in the last year to our family, you want to hide from magic. It's tempting, and I'm just as tempted to do it as you are, but we can't. Magic, as much as we try to deny it, is a part of us; and as much bad as it has done to our family, we can do just as much good with it. You need to remember that."
"I'm just scared Piper." Phoebe admitted.
"I know sweetie. We'll start tomorrow, and do it together." Piper responded. And she gathered her sister into a hug.
C.O.S.: St. Catherine's Catholic Church-
Piper neatly parked the car and she, and Piper slowly made their way across the church parking lot and went inside. They paused for a moment to get their bearings, and entered the church proper. They made their way down the main aisle to a priest, standing at the altar quietly tidying up after mass. They stood respectfully silent, waiting for him to finish, and recognize them. He carried a heavy goblet from a table to their right, and looked at them as he passed, nimbly climbing two steps up to where he carefully stored it away in a case. He shut the case, and straightened up, making his way back towards the bar where, Piper, and Phoebe stood.
"Just putting away the communion cup. It was an unusually busy mass this morning for a weekday mass." The priest folded his hands awkwardly in front of him, and gave a smile of welcome to the two women.
"What can I do for you two ladies today?" He was direct.
"We'd like some help in tracing an adoption." Phoebe began; Piper was quick to take up the thread:
"We think, that 22 years ago, our mother had a child. And for whatever reason, she gave it up to you guys for adoption." A flicker of recognition went over the priest's face:
"You're name's Halliwell, isn't it? You live in that beautiful manor just up the street. Your family's always been very generous to this church."
"Yes. We've had to move out of the manor; we couldn't afford the upkeep of it." Piper answered, the sadness showing in her voice.
"I'm not the one that usually handles the adoptions. You're probably looking for Sister Cecila; I'll just go and get her." The priest walked away down the aisle and out the door of the chapel. Piper made her way to a pew, and sat down, Phoebe followed her lead and sat next to her.
"Prue would love this." Piper started the conversation.
"Yeah, she would. She would love the sense of peace you'd get from it." Phoebe replied. She thought for a moment:
"What would she say if she knew that we were continuing the power of three? Because, I've got to say, it feels like we're betraying her."
Piper turned to look directly at her sister:
"I know it feels a little awkward. But we're not betraying Prue; she would want us to go on with our lives. And if that means, we've found another person to form the power-of-three; I'd have to believe that she'd want that."
The both looked up at the sound of footsteps, echoing through the empty church. A middle-aged woman approached them:
"You're name's Halliwell?"
"Yes, it is. We're trying to trace an adoption from 23 years ago." Piper supplied the answer. The nun sighed:
"A baby girl was dropped off here, by a woman. I remember it so well because people never drop children off here; it's widely known that if we were to handle any adoptions it would be through the abbey just outside of the city. She was very sad to part with the little one; the baby cried. I asked her why, she answered that the baby was a product of an affair, and that if her husband ever found out about it… She ended up leaving the baby here; the only request was that the child's name begins with a "P." I ended up caring for the child for a few days while a home was found, and that was the last I'd heard. "
Piper rummaged around in her purse and found her wallet, taking out a photo of the three girls and their mother she carried around with her, and showed it to the nun:
"Is this the woman?"
"Yes. I remember her so well; she loved the baby so much- I could see it written all over her face. She also appeared as if she could afford to raise the child, and I wondered why she was giving it up."
Phoebe placed a comforting hand on the older woman's shoulder:
"Thank you Sister, you've been very helpful." The nun moved to leave, and paused mid-stride. She fumbled awkwardly in the pockets of the apron covering her dress:
"There is one last thing though; the baby was wrapped in this." She produced a pink blanket with the letter P, on it. "The family who adopted the child felt it was better to leave it."
"May we see that for a minute?" Piper beckoned to the blanket:
"Yeah, just come down to the office with it when you're done. I must be going back to work." She gave it up to Piper, and left the room.
"It's the blanket Grams made each of us, and it can only mean that he's right." Piper uttered the two simple words; the last ones Phoebe wanted to hear. She sighed heavily:
"Where do we go next?"
"We go to the manor, and look for clues there." Piper answered.
C.O.S.: The Manor
They drove up to the manor, and parked along the street. On the outside, the house had the usual signs of neglect: chipped paint on the shutters, an overgrown front lawn, weeds growing in the flowerbeds. They made their way to the front door, and noticed cracked cement on the driveway, and the stairs. Piper took the keys from her purse, and opened the door. They stepped into the entryway and stopped, gazing around at the all-to-familiar surroundings:
"It's like we never left." Phoebe remarked. Piper sniffed:
"Or will be, as soon we get the windows open, and fresh air in here." Piper led the way into the living room, throwing open the curtains, and allowing the sunshine to enter the room.
They made their way in silence upstairs to the doorway, which, led to the attic. Phoebe put her hand on Piper's arm:
"You go on ahead, I have something I want to do here first." Understanding flashed across Piper's face:
"Take all the time you need sweetie, I got it covered." Piper disappeared through the door and upstairs.
Phoebe meanwhile, opened the middle door on the left side of the hallway and with a deep breath went in. It was all how she left it: her bed, still made from the day she left, the dresser; still standing in its place, with her usual stuff on top of it; jewelry boxes, single framed pictures of her and her sisters; of her and friends at college. A second deep breath steadied her nerves, as she opened the drawer and took out the single photo album that remained there, and smiled sadly to herself as she noted the label: 'Our Wedding Day.' She remembered how she felt when she first realized that she had forgotten it here; Jason had sighed and said: Oh well, we'll pick it up eventually. Then Alana was born, and she became a mom; mom's Phoebe quickly found out, didn't have time to be witches, so she spent less, and less time at the manor- days became weeks; the weeks turned into months. Prue died, and Piper quickly found she couldn't spend her spare time away from the restaurant alone in the manor with the memories; so she left, leaving Phoebe with no reason to return.
She positioned herself comfortably on the bed, and opened the book. The first picture was of the two of them taken at their engagement party; they were looking longingly into each other's eyes. She remembered being very much in love with him that day; he could do no wrong- this suave, sophisticated newspaper magnate; dressed up in a suit, and tie. He was very able to dazzle the women there with his charm, and compliments- every bit the gentleman, even managing to get parental approval.
She flipped through some more pages, finding the more formal pictures of the bridal party, and the groom with his groomsmen. Then she stopped again at a photo taken by a guest of the moment they first kissed as man, and wife. She remembered how that felt in that moment; nobody else in the world existed for them but each other. She wanted that one single moment to last forever. She rubbed brushed her lips, as she remembered the exact feeling of his lips.
"What happened to us?" She whispered to the picture.
"We fell out of love, you pretended to be something you weren't. Couples fall in and out of love all the time, and we shouldn't be any different; but we are, and you know why Phoebe."
Phoebe looked up from her photo album in shock; she gulped:
"How did you get in?"
"How do you think?" Jason answered her question, with a question, and allowed his eyes to flash completely dark, and back to their normal blue.
Phoebe replied with defiance in her voice:
"What have you come here to do? Threaten to steal my child? Fire me? Sue me for some trumped up charge? Call me a whore- no wait, you've already done that last one, so it's not that last one."
"I don't want to hurt you Phoebe." Jason replied.
"It's too late for that Jason," Phoebe answered; sadness colouring her tone.
"You killed my brother." Jason stated the fact.
"He called me a whore, and you did nothing. He tried to kill me, and you did nothing, he came into my home and insulted my skills as a mother and you did nothing." Phoebe angrily replied.
"I'd just found out that virtually my entire marriage was based on a lie. My wife wasn't whom she told me, and my daughter: well let's just say god knows what my daughter will turn into. You'd have been downright foolish to expect the red carpet after dropping that little bombshell." Jason replied, his tone rising in kind.
Phoebe stood up, her voice showing increased intensity:
"Do you know that sometimes when I casually touch people; sometimes through brushing fingertips, other times through handshakes, that I can get visions. In that one tiny instant; that one fraction of a second I can see who they woke up next to that morning; I can feel, what they felt while they watched their mother die? If you would have bothered to stop your self-indulgence and at least try and imagine that, I'd like to think, or imagine that maybe you would be approaching this a lot differently."
Jason placed his hand on her arm:
"I don't want to hurt you Phoebe."
"Then take your hand off my arm." Phoebe told him. His grip tightened, and there was a brief moment of silence before Phoebe spoke with increased force:
"I told you to take your hand off my arm. Now you're blocking my way out, so let me pass." They locked gazes, and were silent. Phoebe observed a flicker of doubt on Jason's face.
"The lady told you to take your hand off of her, now I suggest you do as she says." A third voice entered the conversation. Jason turned his head to discover that Cole had entered the hallway from the stairs, and was now standing behind him. The momentary distraction was all Phoebe needed to grab hold of the album, and hit Jason over the head with it. Jason fell toward Cole, who picked him up and started back towards the stairs:
"Paige is downstairs, go get Piper."
Phoebe moved to respond, climbing the remaining stairs up to the attic room. She entered to a scene that had Piper standing with her arms crossed over her chest, and looking towards the circle, holding the apparitions of their Grams, and mother.
"Piper sweetie what's the matter?" Grams asked.
"I'm just trying to wrap my head around it all. You're saying that you had an affair, with your White Lighter! How could you do that to Dad?"
"Now, wait just a minute: your father and I were technically broken up at the time; we hadn't been living together for 6 months. I would not call that cheating," their mother defended herself.
"He never stopped loving you." Phoebe spoke, as she moved to stand beside Piper. Their mother gave a sad smile in response.
"I thought it was against the rules for White Lighters, and witches to be together." Phoebe stated.
"It was; we had to be careful. That was why I had to give her up for adoption- it could never be found out that a child came of our union." Their mother wistfully explained.
"We've been doing some digging, and we know; we have the proof. Phoebe showed them the pink blanket with the letter P on it. The women smiled, at the blanket.
" She's actually sitting downstairs, with my lawyer of all people. Her name's Paige; and before you ask, yes- she grew up in a happy home, with parents that loved her. She's a social worker by trade, but has recently become unemployed due to an illness, and a family death. She's been working for a temp agency, and came to my lawyer's attention when she came to work for him." Phoebe explained.
"Speaking of Paige, we should get going downstairs. Cole's likely here by now- I called him." Piper remarked.
"Before your mother, and myself disappear I have one final message for you both from Prue; She wants you to not only carry on the tradition, but to be happy. You're not betraying her if you reunite the power of three, you are honouring her. She will always be looking out for the two of you, and she loves you both." Grams told them. There was an extended silence in the room, before Grams broke it:
"We really must go." The two apparitions faded away.
"Good-bye my darlings." Their mother's voice echoed. Phoebe, and Piper looked at each other for a long moment before speaking.
"Well that was…" Piper began.
"Yeah. We really should…" Phoebe finished.
"Yeah." Piper acknowledged. She grabbed the blanket, and Phoebe led the way downstairs.
"Do we have any idea how we're going to break this to her?" Phoebe asked.
"I was thinking blunt honesty would be best; there really is no great way to tell someone they're a witch." Piper answered.
"What do we do, if she doesn't believe us?" Phoebe questioned.
"We ask Cole to help us give her a little demonstration." Piper responded, relishing the thought of blowing him away. They stopped before the doorway to the living room, and surveyed the scene: Cole standing quietly surveying the scene outside, while Paige gazed around the room puzzlingly. Paige stood up:
"I've been trying to ask tall, dark, and broody over there what I'm doing here, and he won't answer, other than to say it will wait for Piper, and Phoebe. You're here, I'm here so let's get to it."
Piper decided to respond to blunt honesty, with blunt honesty:
"You're a…"
Phoebe cut her off:
"going to need to sit down before we get to the reason for your presence here."
Paige sat down, with Phoebe, and Piper following her lead. Piper started off:
"You're adopted right?" Paige nodded in response.
"We have evidence; no wrong word. Strong indications, that you are our sister." Piper continued.
"Half-sister to be exact. We share the same mother." Phoebe quickly added.
"And you know those stories about witches living here?" Phoebe asked, and Paige nodded her response. You couldn't help but hear some rumours about this house.
"They're true." Piper cut right to the chase. Paige started chuckling; the sound drew Cole back into the room from his watch-post at the window.
"Witches! You mean they exist, they actually live. The broomstick-riding, pointy-hat wearing kind of person; come on, you guys are just yanking my chain." Piper nervously quipped:
"Our broomsticks, are in the closets upstairs." She was instantly serious again. Paige's laughter went from chuckles to outright belly-laughter, until suddenly she stopped laughing, as she realized that the rest of the group wasn't laughing with her:
"The next thing you guys are going to tell me that demons exist." Paige caught the meaningful glance shared between Phoebe, Piper, and Cole.
"We should probably give you a demonstration." Piper suggested. Paige was at an angle to be able to see through the doorway into the front hall.
"What's that?" She asked. Piper quickly glanced at Cole, who followed her into the foyer. A demon with scales on its face had entered the area. Paige watched with awe as Cole threw a ball of fire, and Piper threw her hands in front of her. The effect was enough to make the demon blow up:
"Didn't take them long," Piper muttered to herself.
Paige looked directly at Cole: "If the two of them are witches, then what does that make you, some kind of sorcerer or something?"
"No, it makes me a demon."
"A demon, and a lawyer; who'd have thought." Paige dryly remarked.
"Yeah." Cole acknowledged.
"That's only half of it." Phoebe began,
"We have White Lighters; they're a kind of magical guardians. They teach us about our powers, advise us on how to beat the demons. Our mother fell in love with her white lighter, and you were born. She gave you up for adoption, because it's rather frowned upon for witches to fall for their white lighters. She was afraid that demons would find you, or that elders would find out, so she bound your powers, as ours were bound, and put you up for adoption." Piper finished the explanation.
Paige was silent for a long time. At last she stood up:
"I-I need some air." She struggled to her feet, and pushed her way out of the room. Phoebe moved to follow, but was stopped by Piper:
"Sweetie, let her go. She needs some time to digest it all."
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Paige walked down to the sidewalk, and away from the house. Her parents had acknowledged she was adopted, told her about it years ago; and being the loving parents they were, loved her despite it all. It still didn't erase the fact, that no matter how loving her parents were, she still felt as if she didn't belong anywhere. If she was honest with herself, she was always looking for where she belonged. 'Today I've found it, in a big way,' she wryly thought to herself. She found that she wasn't nearly as shocked as maybe she should be; finding out demons, and witches really existed wasn't nearly as big a deal to her as it could be; she always kept an open mind, and always on some level knew something more existed in life.
She stopped, as she realized she was near the church, and made her way back to the manor; she felt a peace she hadn't known for ages, as if this was where she should be; at this house with these women. She approached the manor with a new perspective; she would be open-minded, but still planned to question them. She knew that would be the best approach. She opened the door, and quietly entered the house to the sound of Cole's voice echoing from the living room, and she followed the sound into the living room where she found the three of them where she left them; sitting down talking. They were silent as she entered the room, and waited patiently for her to be the first one to speak, which, after some time she did, with a new resolve:
"Okay, I've thought about it, and I think I can accept what you're trying to tell me here. But, I still would like to ask a couple of questions. If I am, who you say I am, then what kinds of powers do I have? And why do we find each other now of all times?"
"White Lighters are a type of angel. They have the power to heal, orb, and call objects to them. They are teachers; they teach witches, and others like themselves how to use and control their powers." Phoebe answered for them.
"As for why we found each other now; your guess is as good as ours." Piper quickly added.
"You're saying that if I opened my hand and said the object it would appear." Paige repeated.
"Just try it; that's all we can ask for. If not, we'll leave you alone- we promise." Piper replied. Cole moved to the drawer of the china cabinet and pulled out an empty vase; Paige extended her hand mimicking Phoebe's gesture.
"Vase." Nothing happened. Paige grew determined and repeated the process:
"Vase," and still nothing happened.
"Sometimes, new powers work better in high-pressure situations." Cole supplied.
"Somehow, I'm not too crazy to try that way out. I'd really rather make sure my powers work before I'm ever in a pinch, and need to use them thanks" She sarcastically answered.
"Come with me." Cole requested, placing a hand on Paige's back to lead her out of the room. Phoebe, and Piper were in hot pursuit.
"Cole, where are you taking me?" She asked, not that alarmed. It became fairly evident as they came through the kitchen, and stopped at the back door. He opened it and they went out to a yard that was overgrown as the front. After they were outside, he dropped the hand that was on her back, back down to his side, and walked the length of the yard. She noticed his demeanor change, the minute he turned, and stopped where he was. She watched with horror as a ball of flame appeared in his hand. Without a word of explanation, he threw it in her direction. She dove, and it missed her singing the side of the manor. She stood up again,
"You're a lawyer, you're supposed to defend the innocent, not fry them." He responded by taking a step closer to her, and throwing another fireball. She closed her eyes, as she felt the heat fly past her. When she opened them again, she found she was sideways on the floor behind Piper and Phoebe.
"Ouch, that landing hurt. What happened? One minute I was diving to the ground, the next I was here on the floor."
"You know those powers we talked up earlier? You used them. When Cole threatened you just now, you orbed away from it." Piper explained. Paige looked puzzled:
"The fear must have triggered something that unbound your powers. Try what we did in the living room again." Phoebe explained, and looked at her encouragingly. Paige repeated what she did before, only this time with different results. The clear plastic vase appeared in her hands, and she looked at it with awe.
"I guess…" Paige began.
"You really are one of us." Piper finished. Paige smiled:
"Yeah, I guess I am." They both looked up at the sound of a closing door, and footsteps. Moments later, Cole entered the room.
"You just tried to kill me." She stated incredulously.
"It was the only way. You needed a high-pressure situation where there was nobody else around protecting you, and this was the best I could do." Cole calmly explained.
"Using that twisted logic, and our limited time; you're likely right, it was the only way." Piper agreed with him. Paige put an arm around each of her sisters:
"Ladies, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"It may not be, if you keep lines like that up." Piper commented.
C.O.S: Jason's apartment:
"I thought we'd agreed you weren't ready." The seer's voice greeted Jason as he stepped into his apartment:
"We agreed on nothing; you told me that I wasn't ready. I felt differently, and so I went to see Phoebe." The Seer surveyed Jason:
"And paid the price for it. Cole is far more powerful that you think; it is important not to underestimate him." Jason shrugged:
"Now what?"
"The partnership formed today is delicate at best; we take steps to assure that it breaks."
"And how do we do that?" Jason asked
"I think you know how." The seer cryptically answered, as she disappeared.
Thanks for waiting for the update. Let me know you liked it, by simply reviewing it.
-A.B.