"Oh no, baby," Phoebe tried to reassure Benji. "Coop isn't afraid of you. Maybe he's just worried about you."
"Is it because of Daddy? Because he was a demon?" Benji wanted to know.
Phoebe didn't know how to respond. "Sweety, Daddy and Coop... They don't like each other very much. And they have their reasons. But whatever Coop is feeling, he's feeling towards your dad. Not towards you."
"Okay, Mommy," he nodded, but Phoebe had a feeling the subject would come up again soon.
She kissed him on the head before saying, "Why don't you go get ready for baseball? It's almost time to go."
Benji nodded and ran off to go put on his baseball clothes. Phoebe made her way to the kitchen where Piper and Paige were laughing.
"Hey Paige," Phoebe smiled at her younger sister.
"Hey," Paige smiled back. "Where is my little nephew? I wanted to come say hi, but Piper told me not to bother you."
Phoebe slumped down in a chair. "He's getting dressed for baseball. We had a talk about... about Coop. Benji may be partly empathic. At least, I think so. He can sense what we're feeling, but I don't think he knows how to explain it fully. And Coop isn't sending off the nicest of emotions."
"Benji can sense that Coop doesn't like him?" Piper asked confused, yet amazed.
"Benji can sense that Coop is scared of him," Phoebe told them seriously.
Confused, Paige asked, "Scared? Why would Coop be scared of him?"
Phoebe shrugged her shoulders, but Piper said, "Coop knows that you'll choose Benji over him. And that might scare him because if push comes to shove, Benji has the power to take you away from him."
"But Coop knows I love him," Phoebe retorted. "And Benji is to young to even think of asking me to leave Coop. He doesn't have anything against him."
"But who has the power to influence Benji and what he thinks?" Piper asked.
Realization dawned on Paige and she said, "Cole."
Just as Phoebe was about to say something, Benji came running in. "Mommy! I forgot my shoes! I can't practice without them."
She sighed heavily and took out her phone. "It's okay, honey. I'll call your dad and we'll work it out." She dialed the number Cole had given her and listened to it ring.
He picked up quickly and Phoebe heard his deep voice say, "Cole Turner."
"Hey, Cole, it's Phoebe. Listen, Benji forgot his baseball shoes. Can we stop by your house to pick it up?"
Piper chimed in saying, "It's all the way across town, you won't get there in time."
"Piper's right," Cole said.
"I'll take him," Paige suggested. "I can orb us."
Phoebe asked Cole, "Will it be okay? If we orb over and get the shoes?"
"Yeah, just make sure to turn off the alarm," Cole said. "It's in the foyer, by the front door. I'll text you the code. And please turn it back on when you leave."
"Okay, thanks," Phoebe ended the call before turning to Paige and Benji. "Okay, Cole just needs to send me the alarm code and we'll go."
"I'm sorry, Mommy," Benji said on the verge of tears.
"It's okay, baby," Phoebe hugged him. "Everyone forgets things. We'll go get them real quick and head to baseball practice, okay?"
Benji nodded silently. Phoebe looked at her phone as a message came through and nodded to Paige to orb them. She took Benji's and Phoebe's hands and orbed into Turner Manor. Phoebe quickly turned off the alarm while Benji ran up the stairs to his room.
"I still can't get over this place," Paige awed at the high ceilings and the intricate patterns on them. "Why didn't you guys live here where you were married?"
"Childhood trauma?" Phoebe guessed.
"But it's beautiful. And it probably costs a fortune to uphold."
Phoebe only smiled as Benji happily ran into the room, shoes on his feet. "I'm ready!"
"Okay, let's go," Paige said taking their hands again and orbing them back to the Manor.
"Get your things so we can go," Phoebe told Benji who ran up the stairs.
Piper handed her two water bottles saying, "Here you go. One for you and one for him. What days does he have baseball?"
"I think Tuesdays and Thursdays, but he does soccer and ballet too," Phoebe answered. "I'll put his schedule on the fridge with Wyatt and Chris's."
Paige laughed, "Ballet? Benji does ballet?"
Phoebe nodded as Benji came hopping down the stairs with Wyatt. She and Benji left the house. Benji was buckled into the back seat and Phoebe was just starting the car when Paige orbed into the passenger seat.
"Paige?! What are you doing?!" Phoebe scolded her, quickly looking around to make sure no one would have seen her.
"Wyatt started throwing a fit," she explained. "I was not staying for that and I was not spending the afternoon alone."
Phoebe started driving to the baseball club while still scolding Paige. "Someone could have seen you, Paige. You're setting a bad example for Benji. You can't just orb or shimmer to placed you don't know are one hundred percent safe."
She laughed at that and turned to the backseat where Benji sat smiling. "You're mom, worries to much."
Benji laughed saying, "She just cares. But you can't be a worse example than Ives. So don't worry."
Paige turned back to Phoebe, "See? I can't be a worse example than Iv. The first time we met Benji she had him on a quadbike and then shimmered him to another continent."
"Fine," Phoebe gave in. "But be careful next time. Someone really could have seen you."
The only reaction Paige gave was an eyeroll. She then put on the radio and started singing along. Benji laughingly followed her lead which prompted Phoebe to join too. They got to the baseball with fifteen minutes to spare. Phoebe and Paige followed Benji to the field where they would be practicing. He quickly joined the other boy and girls his age, leaving the sisters alone to watch.
A woman approached them skeptically. "Sorry? I'm Deputy Coach Evan. I'm guessing you're Benji's mom and...?" she held out her hand.
"Aunt," Phoebe said shaking the woman's hand. "I'm Phoebe, his mom and this is my sister, Paige."
"I'm happy to finally meet you," Coach Evan said. "Cole called to explain the situation. It's wonderful that you can be with your son again. And nephew of course."
"We're happy to finally have him back," Phoebe smiled happily as she watched the kids playing.
"I'm sure," the woman smiled. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost my daughter."
"You have a daughter? Which one is she?" Paige asked looking over the handful of girls in the team.
Coach Mason laughed. "None of them. Quinn's at her daycare. Just a little to small to hold a bat, unfortunately."
"Cole said his coach was Coach Matthew?" Phoebe asked, skeptical of the woman standing opposite her.
Coach Evan nodded. "He is. His wife went into labor this morning, so I'm taking over."
"Okay, I just wanted to make sure that..." Phoebe wasn't sure how to say 'evil' without sounding like she belonged in an asylum.
"I'm not a creepy stalker or kidnapper or something?" Evan laughed. "I get it, don't worry. I should talk to a few of the other parents before practice starts. So, I will see you later."
"Yes, of course," Phoebe said and Evan greeted them with a smile as she walked to the other parents.
"I like her," Paige nodded in approval. "She doesn't seem to be the demon type."
"Can't be to sure though," Phoebe reminded her.
"Worry wort," Paige laughed. "So what do we do? Do we like stand here for an hour or what now?"
Phoebe was unsure as well. "I guess so?"
"Okay, then we need to find a place to go sit. These heels were not made for standing on grass for an hour," Paige said.
Laughing they made their way to the stands where a few others were sitting. They sat down away from the other parents who were throwing them curious glances.
"So," Paige looked onto the field where the kids were doing stretches, "do you know anything about baseball?"
Shaking her head, Phoebe laughed, "No. But if Benji enjoys it, I'll support him the best I can."
"And ballet?"
"Not a clue. Why does a five year old boy want to do ballet? And soccer."
Scoffing, Paige said, "Cole probably wanted to have Benji do enough things so he will always be busy."
"Really, Paige? For all his faults, Cole was happy when I got pregnant. And I think he really does love Benji."
Paige rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. I just think Cole might be extremely busy as a single father. What does he do now anyways?"
In that moment Phoebe realized how much she and Cole still needed to discuss. Things like Benji's school and activities. How to raise him. They needed to talk about their personal lives and the people in it. They didn't know each other at all anymore. Not even what the other did.
Seemingly not noticing her sister's thoughts, Paige continued speaking. "Do you think he's a lawyer again? I mean he was probably good at it when he put the demon hunting aside."
"Probably," Phoebe shrugged. "I don't think there is anything else that he would do."
"And he needs to pay for that gorgeous place somehow. We need to ask him. So we can reach him if we need him."
"I was thinking the same thing. I'll talk to him as some point."