Chapter 3: The Good, The Bad & The Cursed
February 15, 2001 – Thursday
Abandoned Ghost Town
Somewhere outside San Francisco Faith sat in the passenger seat of Piper's Jeep as they waited for Victor Bennett; Phoebe, Prue and Piper's father and her grandfather, in a real ghost town. Faith sighed, she was just getting used to calling Prue, mom. When Phoebe had gotten a call from Victor, Prue had suggested to her baby sister that Faith accompany her and meet her grandfather.
"Dad!" Phoebe said as she got out of her car and walked toward Victor as he got out of his.
"Hello, Phoebe," Victor said as he hugged his youngest daughter. He noticed a second person sitting in the car. "Who is that?"
Phoebe smiled and motioned for Faith to join them. As Faith got out of the car and walked toward them, she introduced her niece. "Dad, this is Faith, your granddaughter."
"Granddaughter?" Victor asked confused.
Phoebe sighed. "Prue had her when she was sixteen. Prue gave Faith up for adoption because she didn't think Grams would let her keep Faith." She decided to give her father a little white lie since she knew how her father felt about magic. She wasn't sure how he would react to knowing that Grams was the one to do it instead of Prue. "A few weeks ago, Faith found out she was adopted and somehow got ahold of her original birth certificate and came looking for Prue."
"No offense," Victor said with a glance at Faith. He looked back at Phoebe. "How do you know she's Prue's?"
"Her date of birth coincides with the time Prue ran away. Also, Prue herself confirmed that she had a daughter," Phoebe said. "Besides, Dad, Faith has powers … Charmed powers."
"If you all are sure," Victor said.
"We are," Phoebe said. "And that is why Faith is here, to meet you, Prue's idea."
"Well Faith," Victor said as he pulled the brunette Slayer into an embrace. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Thanks," Faith said with a glance at Phoebe.
"Alright, dad, spill it," Phoebe said as she saw how much Faith wanted out of the embrace. "What are we doing here?"
"What, can't a father spend a little quality time with his daughter?" Victor asked as he released Faith. "Especially after all the time we've been apart."
"Alright, I take after you, okay," Phoebe said. "I've inherited all of your tricks, especially your fine art of fibbing."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Victor said. "Tell me a little bit more about this Leo fellow anyway. How did he and Piper meet?"
"Oh, it was a couple of years ago at the house. He was our handyman," Phoebe explained. She saw Faith bite her lip to keep from laughing. She could understand why since Faith knew that the handyman act was his way of not revealing to his charges that he was a Whitelighter till it was time."
"Piper's marrying a handyman?" Victor asked shocked.
Well, no, he isn't really a handyman. Wait, you do know..." Phoebe said.
"All I know is he's a nice enough guy who seems to know the big bad secret," Victor said. "Trust me, it's a lot better for a mortal to know he's marrying a witch before the wedding instead of after. Wish I had."
"You really wish you had known about Grandma Patty beforehand?" Faith asked.
"Yes, I do," Victor said as Faith heard a noise come from one of the buildings.
"What?" Victor asked.
"Slayer senses are tingling," Faith said as Victor looked at her. She had forgotten he didn't know about her being a Slayer. "It's a long story."
"What are you talking about?" Victor asked before looking at Phoebe. "Does she get premonitions like you, or whatever you call it, Phoebe?" He sighed. "Alright, I confess. I brought you here hoping maybe you could give me a little bit of your help, Phoebe. I just didn't know how to ask."
Phoebe sighed with a glance at her niece. "Magical help? Dad..."
"Well, this place seemed like such a good investment," Victor explained. "Too good, actually. Made me think that all the stories were true."
"Maybe we should bite," Faith suggested. "Especially with my Slayer senses tingling.
Phoebe nodded. "What stories?" she asked her father.
"Ghost stories," Victor explained. "Something's been keeping people from investing and razing this place for over a hundred years."
"So, what, you wanted me to do a little supernatural inspection?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, yeah. I thought you could do a little Feng Shui on the place and maybe see if there's anything going on," Victor suggested.
Faith chuckled. "You do Feng Shui, Aunt Phoebe?"
"No," Phoebe told her niece. "I don't do Feng Shui." She turned back to her father with a sigh. "And even if I did, dad, I can't always get a premonition when I want to." It was at that moment that she and Faith both heard a noise coming from a nearby building. "Faith, did you hear that?" she asked with a glance at Faith.
"Yeah," Faith answered without looking at Phoebe. "You too?"
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah."
"Heard what?" Victor asked in confusion, he hadn't heard anything.
Faith started forward as she heard the sound of a glass bottle being smashed. "Aunt Phoebe?" she said with glance over her shoulder.
"I heard it," Phoebe stated before looking at her father. "You didn't hear that I assume?"
"Hear what?" Victor repeated.
It was at that moment that Phoebe and Faith both saw a cowboy being thrown out of a building down the street by another man.
"You're a dead man, Bo," said the man who had thrown the cowboy.
"Faith, can you see them?" Phoebe asked.
Faith nodded. "Yeah. And my question is how."
Phoebe shrugged. "Maybe you have my powers?" she suggested.
"See who?" Victor asked.
Phoebe ignored her father as she and Faith advanced on the two men. "Hey!" she called out. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Nobody crosses Mr. Sutter," said the man as he hit Bo in the face.
Bo flew back right through Phoebe. He turned and ran off as the man shot at him seconds before they disappeared.
"Okay I think this is one hundred…" Faith started to say before she noticed that Phoebe had a bleeding lip. "Aunt Phoebe, your lip is bleeding."
"I wouldn't buy this place, dad," Phoebe said as she dabbed at her lip with a handkerchief. "Really, really bad Feng Shui."
Halliwell Manor
Prue walked down the stairs and turned towards the dining room. As she looked at the table, she noticed something. She looked to her middle sister as she said, "Uh, wait a minute. We have one too many place settings."
"No, we don't," Piper countered.
"Okay, uh, you, me, Leo, Phoebe, Faith and dad. That's six, we have eight."
"So?"
"So, who are the seventh and eighth for?" Prue asked.
"One is for Buffy," Piper said. "She's currently upstairs with Leo working on identifying her powers. And the other is maybe, um, mom." She noticed Prue give her a look. "What? It's my wedding. At least she could be here in spirit, if nothing else."
"Yes, she can be," Prue agreed as she hugged Piper.
Just at that moment Buffy appeared next to them with Leo in a swirl of fiery flames. "Wow that is so cool," she said excitedly. "And you think that is only one of the powers I retained?"
"Yes," Leo said as he looked around and noticed the table. "Wow, looks great. When do we eat?"
"Leo, can't you see we're having a sister moment?" Piper questioned her fiancée.
"Oh, sorry," Leo apologized. "Do you want us to go?" He motioned toward the stairs to indicate the attic.
Piper shook her head. "No, I want you to help. This is your rehearsal dinner too, you know."
"So, Leo, you nervous?" Prue questioned as she looked at her soon to be brother-in-law. "I mean, only one more week before dum, dum, dum-dum."
"Well, as long as no demons come bursting through that door, until them, I am fine," Leo said.
"Mom! Aunt Piper!" came Faith's voice from the area of the front door.
Prue, Piper, Leo and Buffy turned to see Victor and Faith flanking Phoebe as they walked through the front door.
Piper glanced at Leo. "You had to jinx it."
"Buffy?" Faith said catching sight of the blonde Slayer.
"Surprise," Piper said. "I invited her down, Faith."
"Wow," Faith said a little shocked but happy that Buffy made the trip.
"Of course, I had double intentions of inviting her. First because she is your friend and I believe you like at least one friend at my wedding. Right?" Piper continued as Faith nodded. "Also, because both of you need to start your training. We need to identify your power, Faith, and of course Buffy needs to learn to control hers."
"So, you do have one then?" Faith questioned her sister Slayer.
"I do," Buffy chuckled as she disappeared in a swirl of fiery flames. She reappeared a second later. "Leo thinks that might not be the only one I retained."
"I think that one looks wicked," Faith said.
"Uhm, can we get back to Phoebe for a moment," Prue interjected looking at the Slayers. She turned her attention toward her baby sister. "So, what happened?"
"Oh, it's nothing, I'm fine," Phoebe countered trying to stave off what she knew to be coming. "I just need an aspirin."
"Faith?" Piper said giving her niece a meaningful look, that Faith had long since interpreted as meaning: 'tell me the truth.'
"Victor, wanted Aunt Phoebe to get a premonition on this ghost town we met him in. We got a lot more than that," Faith said. "We saw I think real ghosts."
Buffy groaned. "I really don't want to be possessed again," she said as everyone looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Last March, a ghost was seeking forgiveness for killing the love of his life. At one point he even possessed me before finally getting the forgiveness he craved."
"Anyways the ghosts, we believe, were two cowboys who were in the midst of a bar fight. One of them was named Bo," Phoebe explained. "I didn't catch the other's name," she looked at Faith who shook her head indicating she hadn't either.
"I think I speak for both myself and Aunt Phoebe that we think the one we didn't catch the name for was the bad guy," Faith said.
"Sweetheart," Victor sighed as he looked at his youngest daughter. "I never would have asked you to meet me there if I had any idea," he said apologetically.
"It's fine, dad," Phoebe soothed. "Really, don't worry about it."
Leo reached over intending to heal Phoebe's lip. "Here, let me take care of that," he offered.
"No, I'm alright," Phoebe informed the Whitelighter, batting his hands away. "Dad, why don't you go to the porch and get those town files," she suggested. "You know, maybe there's something in them that can help us."
"Alright," Victor said as he went back outside.
Phoebe sighed as she looked at Prue and Leo. "Dad doesn't know that Leo is a Whitelighter."
"What?" Prue and Leo asked in shock.
"That was my reaction," Faith said noticing her mother and grandfather's expressions. "On the ride home Aunt Phoebe explained about Grandma Patty and her Whitelighter."
"Yeah," Piper sighed. "I've been meaning to tell him, but considering mom had an affair with her Whitelighter, I didn't think he'd be really receptive to the idea," she admitted in her own defense.
"Wow," Buffy said as she glanced at Faith. "Makes our problems seem to pale in comparison."
"I know," Faith agreed. "At least we have a chance to fix ours."
"True," Buffy agreed as she smiled at Faith.
"Piper, he's going to kill me when he finds out," Leo informed his fiancée with a sigh of regret.
"Probably you and me both, Leo," Faith said as everyone looked at her. "He heard me mention the Slayer bit."
Buffy grimaced as she remembered when her mother had learned she was the Slayer. "Yeah, that's not going to be an easy conversation," she agreed. "I remember when I told mom. She didn't take it well."
"What did she do?" Leo questioned looking at the blonde Slayer.
"Told me if I left, not to come back," Buffy answered with a sigh of regret. "I know now that she didn't mean it of course. But I reacted badly. I ran away from home back in May and didn't come back till …" she looked at Faith, "…till a few weeks before you arrived in Sunnydale."
It was at that moment that Victor came through the front door carrying a box full of files. "Just a lot of investment stuff and background info," he admitted. "I don't see how it's going to help you find out what happened."
"Well, you're the one that called it a ghost town, and since Bo fell through me and I ended up with the same split lip that he had," Phoebe interjected.
"I think Faith is right, sounds like a ghost to me," Prue added.
"It can't be a ghost," Leo said. "Ghosts don't bleed."
"Ahem," Piper cleared her throat while motioning at her father.
"I mean," Leo immediately corrected with a glance at Victor, "so I've read in books. Obviously, it's not my area of expertise."
"Mine, neither," Victor said with a smile at his future son-in-law. "What do you say we let the supernatural stuff to the pros and go grab a bite?"
"I don't know, Mr. Bennett," Leo countered glancing at each of his charges in turn.
"Oh," Prue said as a smile graced both hers and Piper's lips. She patted Leo on the back.
"Victor, please," Victor informed the Whitelighter. "It's time you called me Victor, son. Come on." He stopped and looked back at Faith. "And I would prefer Grandpa if you don't mind."
Faith pinched the bridge of her nose. While she had almost immediately started referring to both her mom and aunts as mother and aunt. It had still felt weird to her, given her life with the Lehanes. "Give me time," she offered hopefully. "While I am used to calling Prue, mom and Piper and Phoebe aunt. It still is a little weird at times. Is that okay?"
"Sure," Victor said as he looked at his granddaughter sympathetically. He could tell that something had happened to his granddaughter that made it hard for her to form connections. "You take your time," he offered with a small pat on her arm in comfort before turning and leading Leo out the door.
"Great," Piper sighed as the door shut behind Leo and Victor. "Now I'm dead."
"Alright," Prue interjected getting them back on topic. "Why don't we just focus on Phoebe and try and figure out what happened. I'll get the book," she informed them as she headed for the stairs.
"I'll get it," Piper interjected as she moved past Prue. "And maybe a drink."
"You don't mind if I use your phone?" Buffy suggested after Piper had disappeared up the stairs. "I want to call Giles and see if he and good old doofus can't help out from their end."
"Doofus?" Prue questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"That new Watcher I told you about, mom," Faith said with a sigh.
"The one that wanted to ship you to England?" Prue asked as Faith nodded. She looked at Buffy. "Which you and I should talk about. I want to find out from someone other than just Faith what all went down."
"Of course," Buffy said.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"What did you tell, dad? You know about Faith?" Piper asked as she flipped through the Book of Shadows.
Prue sighed as she went and sat down on the couch that sat underneath one of the attic windows. "I told Phoebe to lie. That I consented to give Faith up. I knew he wouldn't take it well if he learned that Grams had done it without my consent and then erased our memories of her."
"Have you remembered anything other than giving birth to her?" Piper wondered.
"No," Prue admitted as her sister turned to look at her. "I remember giving birth to her and I remember holding her in the hospital. But it gets hazy after that. Maybe Grams spell had personal gain consequences." She shrugged. "I don't know. I can ask her next week when she comes down to officiate your wedding."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy sat next to the phone waiting for Giles to return her call. This was one reason she hated doing research. "Mom and Aunt Piper are looking through their Book," Faith said as she approached her sister Slayer. "So how are things with your mom?"
Buffy let out a sigh. "I'm still grounded. Not that I'm really complaining. After all I know I'm responsible for what I did."
"But you were evil," Faith interjected. "She can't…"
"I insisted on taking the punishment, Faith," Buffy insisted. "Yes, I was under a spell, but it was still me. On some level it was still me. So, I'm okay with being grounded. Mom let me come down primarily to learn to control my powers. And she said my grounding will be over the day before Piper's wedding so I can be here for that. But till then it's school, patrol and home. No Bronze, no shopping, and I only see Willow and Xander at school or if they wind up going with me on patrol."
"Is Red and Xan mad at me?" Faith questioned as she sat next to Buffy. "You know about…"
"…Everything that happened?" Buffy finished for her sister Slayer, who nodded in affirmation. "Not as much as they were before you left. But I explained things and hopefully when they see how you are doing now. They might come around."
Just then the phone rang and Faith answered it. "Halliwell Residence, Faith speaking."
"Faith," came Giles voice from the phone.
"Hey, G-Man," Faith said with a smile.
"I wish you wouldn't call me that."
"Sorry," Faith said as she held the phone between her and Buffy so Buffy could listen in. "Habit. People I like or respect always got nicknames like that. So, what do you got?"
"I found records on the town that Buffy called about," Giles told them. "Or rather what records there were as all record keeping stopped in 1873."
"What?" Buffy asked surprised. "How is that possible, Giles?"
"From what I've learned," Giles said. "The town I believe was cursed into a time loop to relive over and over a certain series of events till the loop was broken."
"Why would they be stuck in this loop?" Faith wondered.
"Possibly some form of great evil or maybe some great injustice happened."
Buffy groaned as she remembered a popular television show when she was younger. "So, we have to right whatever went wrong?" she asked. "Great now we're Sam Beckey."
"Sam Beckey?" Giles asked confused at the cultural reference.
"Sam Beckett was a character from an old TV show," Faith explained. "He jumped back and forth through time fixing whatever had originally went wrong."
"Ah."
"Thanks, G-m…" Faith said and then instantly corrected herself. "…Giles." She ended the call before looking at her fellow Slayer. "Our world just keeps getting weirder and weirder doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "Well we should go tell your mom what we found out."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"So that is probably why this is happening to me," Phoebe said after Faith and Buffy had finished explaining what Giles had told them. "Our job is to right the wrong."
"Yeah, well, we better do it before your symptoms get any worse," Prue said as the doorbell rang. "I'll …"
"Already got it," Faith said as she opened the front door to find a man standing there holding a bouquet of flowers.
The man looked at Faith and frowned. "The Halliwells do still live here?"
"Yes," Faith said as he pushed his way past her. She too began to frown.
"So is Phoebe home?" he asked.
Faith spun around with a roundhouse kick and sent the man flying across the room. He landed on a small table as Phoebe, Prue, Buffy and Piper came to find out what the commotion was.
"What the... Cole, what...?" Phoebe said as he hurried over to Cole.
"Phoebe, hi," Cole said as he smiled at her. "Oh, phew." He held out the flowers that she pushed away. "These are for you."
"Okay three questions," Prue said. "Why did you attack him, Faith?" She looked at Cole. "What the hell are you doing here? And do you have some kind of death wish?"
"Demon…" Faith said pointing at Cole, "…Slayer…" she pointed at herself and then Buffy, "…Dead demon, mom."
"Mom?" Cole questioned in surprise.
"Yes mom, Cole," Prue snapped. "It's complicated and you don't get to know the details. Now answer my question."
Cole glanced from Faith and Buffy to Prue and finally to Phoebe. "I told Phoebe last week that I wasn't giving up on her and I meant it."
"You talked to Phoebe?" Piper asked before looking at her baby sister. "He talked to you?"
Cole nodded in confirmation. "Uh-huh."
"I'm confused," Faith said.
"You're not the only one, Faith," Prue said as she looked at her baby sister. "You said he was alive. You never said anything about him being back."
"It didn't matter because as I told him," Phoebe interjected in her own defense. "I don't want anything to do with him anymore."
Buffy rolled her eyes as she looked at Faith. "Seems like I'm not the only one that falls for guys that I'm not supposed to."
Faith chuckled. "Yeah."
"Okay, how are there two of them?" Cole questioned looking at Buffy and Faith. He realized why his demon half was growling at him. It had been warning him there were two Slayers in the room.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Faith snapped.
"Faith, later," Prue said as she glared at Cole. "Well if that is the case, Pheebs." She went to wave her arm at Cole when Piper grabbed it.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Piper yelled getting Prue's attention. "I just set that table," she reminded her elder sister. "We don't have time to buy a new one before dinner."
"I'm not going to use my powers against you anyway," Cole informed them, hoping that would buy him some brownie points. "In fact, I'm never going to use them again, ever. It keeps me from being evil."
"No, you will always be evil, you're a demon," Prue scoffed.
"She has a point," Buffy agreed.
"That's a turn around," Faith said looking at Buffy. "When Angel was the demon in question…"
"Half-demon," Cole interjected. "My human half …"
"Human half," Buffy asked with a glance at Faith. "I didn't know demons could have a human half. Did you?" Faith shrugged. "I know they can look human since vampires do after all when not in gameface. But that's a new one for me."
"…can suppress it if..." Cole concluded as he noticed Phoebe's injuries. "Phoebe, you're hurt. What happened?"
"You know what, Cole?" Phoebe snapped. "It's none of your business. So, why don't you do yourself a favor and just get..." She was unable to finish as she was pulled into a premonition.
A man stood pointing a gun at Bo as he pulled the trigger.
"Aunt Phoebe?" Faith said as Phoebe fell into her arms. "Buffy, help me."
Buffy moved to Faith. "Where do you want her?" she inquired.
"Couch," Faith answered as she and Buffy picked Phoebe up as gently as possible and moved her to the couch.
"Phoebe, what happened?" Prue asked as she, Piper and Cole followed the two Slayers.
As Faith and Buffy sat Phoebe gently on the couch Faith saw that her hand was covered in blood. "Mom, call for Leo. Now!" she ordered.
"Why?" Prue asked.
Faith held up her blood covered hand. "I think Aunt Phoebe has been shot," she told her mother.
"Leo!" Prue called out.
There was a momentary pause before Leo finally orbed in. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked the demon when he spotted Cole.
"Forget about him, Leo," Prue told the Whitelighter. "Phoebe's been shot."
"Shot?" Leo asked surprised as he rushed to Phoebe. "How did that happen?"
"There's no time to explain," Prue snapped. "Can you heal her?"
Leo only nodded as he held his hands over Phoebe's wound.
"Where's dad?" Piper wondered, though she was not sure she wanted to know.
"Seething probably," Leo answered. A frown creased his face. For some reason his powers were not working. There were no golden rays of healing being emitted from his hands and he wasn't healing Phoebe at all.
"What's the matter, Leo?" Cole asked, the first one to notice that Leo wasn't healing Phoebe. "Why isn't it working?"
Leo shrugged; he had no clue as he took his hands away from the youngest sister's wound. "I don't know. Phoebe, you have to tell me exactly how this happened."
Phoebe thought back to win the bullet wound appeared and shrugged. "Um, I don't, I don't really know. I had a premonition and I felt Bo get shot and then I came out of it."
"Leo, can you heal her?" Faith wondered with obvious worry.
"No," Leo answered looking at the youngest Halliwell. "Because, Faith, your aunt wasn't the one that was shot. Bo was."
"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked as she held up Faith's hand to show him the blood that Faith had yet to go wash off. "She's bleeding."
"I know, Buffy, but it's more like a psychic echo," Leo explained. "Phoebe is linked to Bo somehow. Whatever he feels, whatever happens to him happens to her."
"Which means Bo must be magical too," Cole suggested looking at the Whitelighter for confirmation. "The only way they can be linked is through their magic."
"I agree," Leo admitted.
"We have to find Bo," Cole continued. "Heal him. It's the only way."
"Well, he's been cursed into a time loop along with the rest of the town," Piper informed the half-demon. "And we don't know how to get there, let alone where there is."
Cole thought about it before nodding. "Well, it's got to be a parallel plane existing in the same physical space as the town."
"You know, I don't think that we need any demonic input right now," Prue said with narrowed eyes.
"I agree," Buffy said.
"If I can help save Phoebe's life, you sure as hell do," Cole countered looking for Prue and then Buffy in the eyes.
Leo held up his hand to forestall any more argument from the sisters or Buffy and Faith. "We're listening," he informed Cole.
"Look, I move through different planes all the time," Cole told them as he began to pace back and forth. "It's how I've been hiding from the Source. Shouldn't be any problem to shimmer into Bo's plane and bring him back here so you can heal him."
"You said you don't use your powers anymore," Piper reminded Cole.
Coles smiled as if he knew something they didn't. "Shimmering isn't a lethal power."
"Uh, why don't you just take Leo with you and you can heal Bo there?" Phoebe suggested.
"I can't. I'm not allowed to work with a demon," Leo reminded them.
"Fine," Prue said. "I'll go."
"No, mom," Faith said. "Buffy and I will go. We don't know if your powers would be affected and you might need them. Our Slayer powers might not be affected. If two of us can be Slayers when there is only supposed to be one. Then it leads to reason that maybe we can keep them in the past as well for the same reason."
Prue sighed. "Alright."
"Prue," Piper said not liking the idea of either her sister or her niece let alone Buffy going with Cole.
"I don't want to leave this up to him," Prue said. "Besides Faith has a very good argument."
"Well, okay, what if something goes wrong and both Faith and Buffy get stuck in the time loop and they don't get back before midnight?" Piper asked.
"It's not the time loop I'm worried about," Prue said.
"I don't know if I can do it," Buffy said. "But I could try bringing Faith and I back if the worse could happen."
"How?" Cole wondered.
Buffy smiled as she disappeared in a swirl of flames and reappeared a moment later. "I haven't fully mastered it yet though. I've only managed a couple times to disappear and reappear in the same spot. And to disappear from the attic and reappear down here."
"Anyways," Prue interjected getting them back on topic. "Piper, why don't you and Leo go to the town, see if you can find anything there to help break the curse. And I'll stay here with Phoebe."
"Play nice, you three," Phoebe said with a glance at Faith, Buffy and Cole.
"Believe me," Cole said. "I do not have a death wish and I know that even if I managed to do anything to one of them, the other would take me down quickly." He looked to Faith and Buffy, "Got to hold my hands."
"This already sucks," Buffy groaned as she and Faith took his hands and he shimmered out with them.
Pocket Dimension – Ghost Town
Cole shimmered in with Buffy and Faith into the ghost town. This one unlike the one Phoebe, Faith and Victor had visited was populated with people.
"Oh, wow," Buffy said, "it worked."
Cole smiled. "You doubted me?"
"Yeah, well, for all we know you were going to take us..." Faith said as they heard a gunshot and Cole pinned them against a wall.
"Welcome to the Wild, Wild West," he said.
"Were you alive during this time period?" Buffy wondered.
"No, I was born around the turn of the century well after this period," Cole answered.
"Alright, just so we're clear," Faith told Cole, "Buffy and I are the ones in charge here. You're just our ride."
Cole rolled his eyes as he could see that Faith took after her mother. "Fine with me," he told them. "What's the plan?"
"Find Bo," Faith started.
"Lay low," Buffy added as Faith nodded in agreement.
"That's a plan?" Cole scoffed.
"Yeah," Faith agreed. "You got a better one?"
Cole looked Buffy and Faith up and down. "Maybe, but first I think we better find something a little less conspicuous to wear."
"What did you have in mind?" Buffy wondered.
Cole watched as a couple of cowboys drug a dead man out of a building. "Nothing you're going to like," he admitted motioning toward the dead man.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
A half an hour later Buffy, Faith and Cole strolled into the saloon dressed in the clothes of the era. Cole and Faith both wore the clothes of a cowboy, while Buffy wore a dress.
"Still think you should have worn that pretty, little red dress drying on the line," Cole said looking toward Faith.
Faith rolled her eyes. "You can ask B, I don't do dresses."
"Not entirely true, Faith," Buffy chuckled. "You wore one, once."
"In all the time you've known me, have you ever seen me wear a dress any other time?" Faith questioned.
"No," Buffy answered. She glanced at Cole. "Except for the one time I've seen Faith in a dress, she has worn nothing but a jacket, leather pants and a t-shirt or tank top. Faith, when it comes to clothes, is the complete opposite of me."
"Now remember," Faith said get them back on track, "we're not getting involved. We don't know if these people will be reinserted into our dimension or if they will live out the rest of their lives here. So minimal impact."
"What'll it be?" the bartender asked as they walked up to the bar.
Buffy and Faith looked to Cole.
"Whiskey," Cole answered. "Three glasses and leave the bottle."
"Passing through?" the bartender asked as he poured the drinks.
"Maybe," Cole answered.
"Maybe if you're not, you ought to consider it," the bartender offered as he poured the drinks. "Things are getting pretty dangerous around here. Friendly advice. Wet your whistle, get back on your horses, and move on as fast as you can."
"What's so dangerous?" Buffy questioned.
The bartender smiled at Buffy. "It's nothing to concern your pretty little head about."
Buffy frowned as she stepped menacingly towards the bar.
"Lay low, remember?" Cole whispered.
"Better let her," Faith whispered back. "One thing B hates is being called little."
"You were saying?" Buffy asked with a growl.
The bartender quickly rethought what he said as he looked at Buffy. She may have been average height for a woman but he could see she meant business all the same. He was almost positive the dress she wore was just to fool people into believing she was a damsel in distress so they wouldn't pay her any attention. "There's some trouble between a powerful man in town..." he told them.
"Sutter?" Faith interjected.
The bartender looked at Faith with a raised eyebrow. "How do you know about Sutter?" he wondered.
Faith smirked. "B's not the only one who knows her way around a bar fight," she answered. "Now tell us what's going on."
The bartender looked between the two women and nodded. "One of Sutter's men just got killed and now there's going to be hell to pay," he explained as three men walked through the doors into the saloon. As everyone turned to look at them, they saw Sutter following close behind.
"Any of them look like the guy you and Phoebe saw?" Buffy whispered to Faith, who shrugged.
"Didn't get a good look at the one attacking Bo real good," Faith admitted.
"Where is he?" Sutter asked looking at the saloon's patrons. "Just so you know, I've already taken the liberty to print up the evening edition." He held up a newspaper with the headline Half-breed to Die at Sundown. "Just so you know how serious this is. All the news that's fit to print." He turned to face a woman. "You know where your little brother's hiding, now don't you?"
Cole blinked and looked from the woman to Buffy and Faith and then back at the woman.
"What?" Buffy asked noticing Cole's expression.
"Slayer," Cole answered. "She's a Slayer."
"That doesn't make sense," Faith said. "B would never have been called if there was a Slayer still alive."
"Unless," Buffy said looking at her sister Slayer. "Whatever made us Slayers thought she was dead when she like the rest of the town was caught in this time loopy thing."
"Even if I did, I'd never tell you," the Slayer told Sutter. "I'm not afraid of you, Mr. Sutter."
"Well, if you were smart, you'd be," Sutter chuckled. "Of course, your kind are not, are they?"
"Hold it," Cole said holding out a hand to stop Buffy as she moved toward Sutter and the Slayer. "Plan is not to get involved."
"I haven't seen Bo, Mr. Sutter, I swear. Not since he took off," said a man when Sutter looked at him.
"You know, you lie to me again, Cal, and I'll do worse than this," Sutter told Cal as held up a whip. One of his men stabbed Cal's hand with a knife.
Buffy broke out of Cole's grip and rushed Sutter's man pushing him away from Cal. She ripped the hem of her dress and wrapped it around Cal's hand. "What is wrong with you people?" she snarled.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Sutter asked appreciatively as he admired Buffy's body.
Cole looked at Faith who sighed. "B?" she said.
"Lady," Sutter said as he looked Buffy in the eyes. "I don't know who you are or where you come from but you obviously don't have the slightest idea who you're dealing with."
"Oh, please," Buffy said replied with a roll of her eyes. "You know how many…" she started to say vampires but quickly corrected herself, "…people have said that to me."
"I usually don't hit women …" a man said as he started toward Buffy.
"Then you're in luck," Faith said as she walked up to the man and hit the man square in the face. "I don't have the same problem." As he fell she grabbed his gun and pointed it at another man who held a rifle. She heard the sound of a rifle being cocked behind her and with a quick glance over her shoulder she noticed Cole had somehow gained a rifle. "Drop it."
"We'll deal with you three later, after we take out Bo," Sutter snarled at Buffy, Faith and Cole.
"This isn't over," one of Sutter's men said. He looked pointedly at Faith who still held his gun. "You and me, we got a score to settle."
"One of you know where he's at," Sutter said. "And if you don't tell me, I'm going to burn this town to the ground looking for him." He followed by his men turned and left the saloon.
"So much for laying low," Cole said with a sigh.
"Yeah," Faith and Buffy agreed.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"I never expected there to be other Slayers," Isabel said as she, Buffy, Faith and Cole exited the saloon. "Or they would be working with a demon."
"It's against our better judgement," Buffy explained. "But he was essential for this mission."
"So," Faith said, "what's Sutter's deal?"
"He's in tight with the railroads," Isabel explained. "He came here a couple of months ago promising to bring the tracks through and make it more than just an old mining town."
"In exchange for what?" Faith wondered.
"A piece of everything. The mines, the bank, the newspaper," Isabel told them. "When folks started resisting, his boys took over. At first everybody stood up to them, but after they killed the sheriff. Cowards."
"Why's Sutter after your brother?" Cole asked.
"Because Bo wouldn't back down," Isabel said. "He's like me a fighter, he just fights other things than the forces of darkness. Anyways he kept on fighting, trying to get everybody to take back the town."
"So, he knows?" Buffy asked as she looked at Faith.
Isabel nodded. "He was there when I was called. Refused to let me fight alone, despite the Watcher's objections to the contrary."
"Isabel, we know that Bo is injured," Faith said. "We know that he's been shot. We can help you, but you have to trust us."
"I do," Isabel said. "Bo said you'd come."
"How's that again?" Cole asked.
"Bo, he saw it in one of his dreams," Isabel explained as a smile crept on her face. "He said that three strangers, two of them Slayers and one a demon, would come, so, um, I knew."
"But you said he doesn't fight the …" Buffy said confused on why Bo would have powers if he didn't fight.
"He doesn't," Isabel said. "Well no more than to help me of course. His gift is why I am the longest living Slayer on record. He inherited it from our father, who was a great medicine man. His name was Soaring Crow."
"Was?" Faith asked.
"He died when my very first vampire attacked us," Isabel explained. "When we moved here, my Watcher didn't want Bo talking about his gift. He said the secret had to be protected. Besides magic is considered evil in the white man's world."
Buffy nodded. "We know what you mean. Our Watcher drilled the same thing into us."
"Come. I'll take you to Bo. Come," Isabel said as she led them over to four horses.
"Where'd you get the horses?" Cole wondered.
"I told you. I was expecting you," Isabel said.
"You know, I still say we eliminate the threat first, kill Sutter," Cole suggested. "Probably break the curse anyway."
"We don't know that would work," Faith said.
"I agree, which is why we need to get to Bo first," Buffy added.
Abandoned Ghost Town
"I don't know what we're supposed to be looking for," Piper said as she and Leo continued their, so far, fruitless search.
"Well, we got to keep looking, find something that might help us break the curse," Leo told his fiancée as he looked around.
Piper sighed. "Like what?" she wondered. "There's nothing here but spiders, lizards, and that stupid old crow."
"Oh, come on, let's keep looking," Leo said. "After all, we got a rehearsal dinner to get back to."
"There's not going to be a rehearsal dinner or a wedding if we don't find a way to save Phoebe," Piper said as a crow landed on roof of the saloon.
"What is it?" Leo asked noticing that Piper was looking toward the saloon.
"Faith and Phoebe said Bo got into a fight in a bar, right?" Piper asked motioning toward the saloon. "So that would be the saloon."
Leo nodded. "Makes sense. It's a western."
"So, it's always the saloon," Piper said as they headed into the building. She walked behind the bar.
"Hankins Nerve Tonic, calms raw nerves," Leo said looking at a bottle. "Think I should bring a bottle back for your dad?"
Piper shook her head. "I don't think that'll do it. There's nothing, there's nothing here. Great brainstorm, huh?"
"Actually," Leo said as he noticed a newspaper in remarkably good condition for being two hundred years old, "I think it was. Look."
Piper walked over to Leo and picked up the newspaper. "Half-breed to die at sundown?"
"On that same date, 1873," Leo said with a nod. "Read who's going to die."
"Bo Light Feather," Piper said with realization that they did not have as much time as they had thought.
"We've got to find a way to warn Faith, Buffy and Cole that they don't have until midnight," Leo said.
"Which means neither does Phoebe," Piper said with a sigh.
Halliwell Manor
Prue sat next to Phoebe who was resting against her. "Thanks, dad," she said as Victor walked into the living room with a glass of water. She took it and nudged her sister up. "Slowly."
"What is it?" Victor asked noticing a look on Phoebe's face.
"It's nothing," Phoebe said.
"What is it?" Prue asked. "Now is not the time to be protecting dad."
"I have to agree with Prue," Victor said. "I didn't come back into your lives just to be kept in the dark. I'm your dad, you can tell me anything."
Phoebe started to shake as she finally let her fears out. "I'm dying."
"What?" Prue asked as worry filled her voice.
"I can feel what's happening to me," Phoebe said as she looked at her eldest sister. "It's like a ... something that you can feel deep inside of you. I can't explain it."
"Piper, Faith and I are not going to let that happen," Prue said.
"I am not going to let that happen," Victor added just as Leo and Piper orbed in.
"How is she?" Piper asked.
Victor looked at Prue as if to say the less they know the less they'll worry. He looked toward Piper and Leo. "She's going to be fine."
"Is she?" Piper wondered looking at her older sister.
"He's right," Prue agreed reluctantly.
"Okay, we have to hurry," Piper said. "We found out Bo dies at sundown; except I don't think Faith and Buffy knows that."
"But we have an idea how to let her know," Leo said as he looked at Phoebe. "Phoebe, if you're getting visions from Bo, maybe he can get one from you."
"I don't understand," Phoebe said with some confusion.
"Phoebe, if you can will yourself to get a premonition about Bo's death," Piper explained, "he might be able to see it too, and then he can tell Faith, Buffy and Cole that they don't have as much time as they think they do."
"But I thought you said you couldn't always get premonitions when you wanted," Victor asked.
"She can't," Prue said. "Well she hasn't been able to before anyways." She looked toward her baby sister. "Doesn't mean you can't though. You have to try."
Piper handed Phoebe the newspaper and Phoebe held it against herself.
Pocket Dimension – Ghost Town
"Any idea what we should say to him?" Cole asked as he, Faith and Buffy followed Isabel toward Bo's hideout.
"We're not going to say anything," Faith said. "Buffy and I'll do the talking."
"You know, it wouldn't kill you to be nice to me," Cole said with a sigh. It was obvious to him that Prue had told Faith what he had done before Phoebe's fake vanquish.
"Really," Faith chuckled. "It's funny you should say that, considering how many times you actually tried to kill my mom and my aunts."
"That's all in the past, Faith," Cole countered.
"Yeah, after all this is done, you need to leave us alone," Faith said. "Otherwise, Buffy and I'll do to you what mom, Aunt Piper and Aunt Phoebe couldn't do, which is slay you."
"Then that's what you both are going to have to do because it's the only way you or them are going to keep me away from Phoebe," Cole said.
Isabel turned and looked at Buffy, Faith and Cole. "Are you guys ready to go in? Uh, something wrong?"
"No," Buffy said. "Just Slayer related stuff. Trying to keep our pet demon on his leash till we're done and don't need his help any longer."
"Pet demon?" Cole scoffed with a roll of his eyes as they walked into the small building before them.
"Is it okay for you to be in here?" Faith wondered as she, Buffy and Cole recognized that the building used to be at one time a church.
"Yeah," Cole replied. "Only demons physically repulsed by the notion of being in here are vampires. For me to not be in here there would have had to have been gargoyles outside."
"Gargawatsits?" Buffy asked. "You mean the stone statues?"
Cole nodded. "That's when they are asleep," he explained. "They wake to ward off evil."
Isabel led them toward a corner where Bo lay holding a cloth against his wound. "He's very weak," she said. "I tried to pull the bullet out but it's in too deep. Bo. Bo. How are you doing?"
"What's the matter with you?" Bo asked looking at Buffy, Faith and Cole. "Who the hell are they?"
"It's okay," Isabel explained. "They've come to help."
"Just like in your vision, remember?" Faith said.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Bo said.
"Bo, I told them," Isabel explained to her brother.
"Too much apparently," Bo said. "We don't need your help. Just leave now."
"Bo," Faith said, "Buffy and I are Slayers like your sister. And my aunt gets visions like you; she had one of you getting shot, alright? We're here to help you."
"And help her," Cole added.
"It's a trick. Sutter sent you. I know he did," Bo said as he pulled out a knife.
"No, they stood up to Sutter," Isabel said. "You should have seen it."
"Just get out of here!" Bo yelled.
"We're not going anywhere," Cole said.
"I know that look. Sutter's got it too," Bo said looking straight at Cole. "You're evil. I can sense it."
"Alright, then look at us," Buffy said. "You can't say …"
"Actually, he can," Isabel said. "Your Watcher didn't tell you the origins of the First Slayer?"
"No," Faith said.
"The First Slayer was imbued with the essence of a demon. Bo can sense it in us as well." She looked back at Bo. "They think that something Sutter is going to do will trigger a curse. The kind that father used to speak about."
Bo looked at Buffy and Faith. "You two are truly Slayers?"
"We are," Buffy said. "We can't tell you where we're from or how we exist with your …"
Bo looked to Isabel who nodded. She walked across the room and picked up an iron candelabra and brought it over to Faith and Buffy. Buffy took the candelabra and easily bent the arms that held the candles before handing it to Faith, who unbent it.
"The first thing we need to do," Faith said as she sat the candelabra down, "is get that bullet out of you. The thing though is how."
"Leo said your mom had telewatsit," Buffy said, "maybe you do too?"
"Possibly," Faith said. "We have yet to find out my power. You could possibly have it too though."
"How do you figure?" Buffy wondered. "All I got was one power so far."
"Leo said you might have gotten more than that."
"It's worth a try," Buffy said. "What do I have to do?"
"Concentrate," Cole suggested. "Picture the bullet in your mind, picture pulling it out of Bo with just your mind."
Buffy listened to Cole as she knelt down beside Bo. "This could hurt," she warned. She did as Cole instructed and slowly the bullet floated back up and out of the wound.
Bo screamed in pain as he forced into a premonition of Sutter whipping him before shooting him in front of Isabel. "I believe you."
Halliwell Manor
"It's okay, you're okay," Piper said as Phoebe cried hysterically. "Take a deep breath."
"I saw what they're going to do to Bo," Phoebe said. "It was horrible!"
"Do you think he saw it too?" Prue wondered.
"I know he did," Phoebe said. "I felt him. Nobody did anything. They didn't help him. Nobody did anything."
"So, what do we do now?" Victor asked.
"We wait," Prue said. "It's up to Faith, Buffy and Cole."
"Oh, so now I'm supposed to trust a demon and a total stranger alongside a granddaughter that before today I knew nothing about?" Victor asked angrily.
"You know, as much as I hate to say this, Cole loves Phoebe," Leo said. "He took a huge risk to come here and try and prove himself to her and he will do whatever it takes to save her life."
"He's right," Phoebe agreed.
"How can you be so sure?" Victor asked.
"Because he loves me as much as I love him," Phoebe said finally admitting her feelings to them.
"And Faith has demonstrated in the last couple weeks that she too will do anything for this family," Prue said. "And from what Faith has told me, Buffy doesn't know how to quit. You can be sure that they will do everything to make sure that Phoebe does not die."
Pocket Dimension – Ghost Town
"You learn fast," Isabel said as she watched Faith with the gun that she had taken off one of Sutter's men earlier that day.
"Thanks," Faith said. "Though I never expected to be using a gun. Crossbow, stake, bow, sure, gun no."
"Neither did I," Isabel said. "But I learned quickly that you have to do what you must to protect yourself."
"Sutter's men just showed up," Cole said as he looked out the window. "We better get Bo out of here."
"What?" Isabel asked clearly surprised. "How did they find us?"
"We must have been followed," Cole suggested. "I'll shimmer him back to Leo, then come back for you three "
"No," Buffy said as she stood up from next to Bo, whom she had been tending to while Isabel taught Faith how to use the gun.
"What do you mean, no?" Cole asked. "He dies, Phoebe dies."
"I know," Buffy said. "And I know that I don't want Faith to lose any more family." She looked directly at Faith. "Like your Watcher."
Faith thought back to her Watcher, Diana, and sighed. She didn't like to think about what Kakistos had done to her. But Buffy was right after her drunken and abusive parents, Diana had been as close as could come to being a mother to her at least till she met Prue.
"It'll save Phoebe," argued Cole.
Buffy nodded. "Again, I know. But there's more than just Phoebe's life on the line here. We have to break the curse by sundown, otherwise this entire town is doomed to repeat the same day over and over again."
"Are you seriously telling me you're willing to sacrifice Faith's aunt's life for a town full of cowboys?" Cole asked.
"Like I just said I don't intend for Faith to lose any more family," Buffy explained. "Besides I can't just walk away from this."
"Neither can I," Faith added, "and if you truly want to prove you are good, especially to my mom and my aunts, you won't either."
"We know you're in there, Bo," called one of Sutter's men from outside. "Come out with your hands up and nobody gets hurt. What's it going to be, Bo?"
"Alright, how do we break the curse?" Cole asked.
"Don't know," Faith said, "but I think Buffy will agree that it hinges on keeping Bo alive."
Bo shook his head. "No, it doesn't. The curse isn't about me or about Sutter. It's about them. The townspeople who stood there and watched me die. The only way is for me to give myself up."
"No," Isabel cried.
"It's okay, Isabel," Bo said as he looked at Faith. "Have faith."
Faith laughed at the pun.
"And they'll kill you," Cole said.
"Maybe. This curse came from my father's people," Bo explained. "I understand that now. It's meant to heal, to teach the townspeople to act without shame. I have to give them that chance."
"Helping them to save you saves themselves," Buffy said in understanding.
Bo opened the door and white doves flew out as he raised his hands in surrender.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Sutter's men rode into town dragging Bo behind them. Not far behind them were Faith, Buffy, Cole and Isabel.
"I want you all to see what happens when people cross me," Sutter said as Bo was led to him. He pushed Bo to the ground.
"No!" Isabel shouted as she started for her brother. "No!"
"Don't!" Faith said restraining Isabel. "He knows what he's doing."
Bo stood back up and Sutter started to whip him. "What's the matter, boy?" Sutter asked. "You too stupid to scream? I want you to beg for mercy."
"What are you people doing?" Buffy asked as she began walking back and forth in front of the towns people. "Look at him. He has the courage to fight Sutter for all of you. You can't just stand there and watch him die. You have to do something! You can take him down!"
"Sutter can't take all of you out," Cole added as he saw what Buffy was doing, trying to rally the crowd into saving themselves. "You need to do what's right!"
"You cannot just stand by and let this happen," Faith added as the bartender walked into the saloon. "Stand up to him! Don't be scared."
"Nobody crosses me," Sutter said as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at Bo.
The bartender exited the saloon and leveled his rifle. He aimed it and shot Sutter's gun out of the man's hand. "I think you just ought to leave Bo alone, Sutter," he said.
"You just signed your own death certificate," Sutter snapped as he glared at the bartender.
Cal unholstered his own gun and aimed it at Sutter. "If you want to kill Bo, you're going to have to kill me too."
Buffy, Cole and Faith watched as every single one of the townspeople drew their own guns and pointed them at Sutter.
Isabel ran to her brother. "Are you okay?" she asked. She barely had time to check on her brother before Sutter grabbed her by the hair. "Aah!"
"Anybody comes after me and she's dead," Sutter said as he leveled his gun at Isabel.
"Now can we do something?" Cole whispered to Buffy and Faith as Sutter jumped onto a horse and rode toward the edge of town.
"Oh, yeah," Buffy said agreed. She ran down a nearby alleyway and disappeared in a swirl of fiery flames. She appeared on the horse behind Sutter. "Hey, how you doing?" She smirked and with a combination of Slayer strength and her newfound telekinesis she telekinetically threw Sutter to the ground.
Sutter stood and tried to run away from Buffy.
"Sutter!" Faith called out; her gun leveled at the man. Sutter drew his own gun and pointed it at her. She fired killing Sutter as Bo, Isabel and the towns people came up behind her. She looked at Bo with a smile. "I don't think Sutter's going to be a problem anymore."
"What about the curse?" Bo wondered.
"It's a beautiful sunset isn't it?" Buffy asked as she walked up to Faith, Bo and Isabel. "I don't think there's been one quite like it in over two hundred years."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Cole and the cowboy that had a score to settle with Faith stood in the saloon. Cole went to shoot the cowboy and found he was out of bullets.
"Looks like you're out of bullets," the cowboy chuckled. "I'm going to enjoy this. See you in hell."
"Been there, done that," Cole said as an energy ball formed in his hand. He flung it killing the cowboy.
"Once a demon always a demon," came Buffy's voice from behind Cole as he turned to face her and Faith.
Halliwell Manor
"So, where are they?" Victor asked, concern flooding his voice. He, Prue, Phoebe, Piper and Leo continued to wait for Buffy, Faith and Cole's return.
"I don't know, unless they didn't make it out," Leo said.
"Don't even say it, don't even think it," Prue said at the thought of never seeing her daughter again.
Just then a swirl of fiery flames heralded Buffy and Faith seconds before Cole shimmered in next to them.
"Finally," Piper said with a sigh of relief.
"What took you so long?" Victor asked looking at his granddaughter. "We've been worried sick."
"Sorry, we had a few, uh, loose ends to tie up," Cole told them.
"Are you okay?" Faith asked looking at Phoebe.
Phoebe smiled as she hugged her niece. "I'm great. Thank you." She looked at Buffy and Cole. "All of you."
"And the time loop?" Leo asked.
"Broken," Buffy said. "They will never have to live through that horror again."
"So then, um, where are they?" Victor asked.
"They didn't revert back into our world," Faith said. "So likely they are living out their lives in that dimension."
"Don't think about it too much, Victor," Leo said offering a bit of advice. "It'll just give you a headache."
"Okay, um, anybody up to a rehearsal dinner?" Piper wondered looking at the table that was still set.
"Absolutely. I'm starving," Phoebe said.
"Well I am definitely H and H," Faith chuckled.
"H and H?" Victor questioned.
"It's a term that Faith came up with," Buffy admitted. "Slayers after they slay a vampire tend to be hungry and horny."
"Yeah, Slayers have two primary itches that need satisfying after a workout like that," Faith said.
"Oh god," Piper groaned. She looked at her eldest sister. "I shouldn't have invited Buffy. Faith's Slayer metabolism was bad enough on the food bill," she said as they all headed for the dining table."
"Well, I guess I should be going," Cole suggested.
"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea," Prue agreed.
Phoebe walked over to Cole and took his hand in hers. "You're not going anywhere," she said,
"Phoebe, I don't want to cause any trouble," Cole objected.
Phoebe kissed Cole as everyone looked away. "You're staying and that's that."
"Alright then, shall we?" Piper asked.
"Yeah," Cole agreed.