Because studying for exams is boring here's another chapter :) thanks hannahlovespll for reviewing the last chapter, I'm glad you liked it :) I'd love to know what everyone thinks.

After school Aria decided to visit her mother's classroom to find out how things went with Byron the night before. She felt guilty about leaving, despite knowing that her mom didn't want her to see them fighting. She just hoped her dad agreed to keep their secret otherwise telling him first would have been pointless as everyone would find out anyway.

She saw her mom sat behind her desk grading papers. Ella looked up when she walked into the room and smiled at her daughter.

"Hi sweetie. Did you have a good day at school?" She asked.

"Yeah. How did things go with dad last night?"

Ella sighed. She knew she'd have to tell Aria eventually. "He wasn't happy." She started. "We ended up having a big argument and I'm pretty sure he never wants to see me again. If you want to see him I'd give him a couple of days to cool off first." Ella advised.

"I don't think I do. At least not yet." Aria admitted.

"That's your choice." Ella assured her.

"I'm sorry for telling him."

"Don't apologise. I know it wasn't your fault. We just need to find out who 'A' is and stop them."

Aria agreed before telling Ella that she had to leave. She'd planned to meet up with the girls after school. Ella let her go, knowing she had a lot of work to do before she could go home because she didn't get a chance to grade any papers over lunch.

Thinking back to her lunch break, Ella remembered her time spent with Wyatt. He seemed lovely and she could definitely see why the school hired him as a guidance counselor but there was something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was like he was hiding something, yet being too open and familiar at the same time which just confused the hell out of Ella.

Despite her curiosity and somewhat obvious hinting, Ella didn't get to find out much more about his family. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that they shared the same last name. It's bound to happen. He had talked very fondly of his mother, although he didn't mention his father at all. Perhaps he was absent all the time like hers was when she was growing up. He also mentioned that he had a younger brother named Chris; who he assured Ella that she would love if they ever met. At this, Ella took the opportunity to invite the two brothers over for dinner the following day, hoping to introduce them to her family so that they would know a few more people in town. Wyatt had accepted her invitation enthusiastically and asked who would be joining them. Ella mentioned that it would be her sisters and children and she remembered Wyatt asking if her husband would be there, to which Ella went quiet and promptly changed the subject.

Once she had finished grading her senior class' papers she drove to the grocery store to get ingredients for the meal she was going to make on Saturday. She was looking forward to hosting a dinner party and showing off her cooking skills. She hadn't been able to cook much for people outside of her family since she left her job at Quake, which seemed like a lifetime ago.

Ella arrived home to an empty house for the first time in what felt like forever. She unpacked the food that needed to be kept in the fridge or freezer, before giving up and planning to finish the job later. Deciding to take advantage of the rare opportunity of quiet, she grabbed the book that she was reading and settled down on the couch. The moment she sat down she saw the bright orbs of a Whitelighter appearing in front of her before the body of her ex-husband Leo materialized before her.

"Leo? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I came to talk about last night."

"Were you just waiting for me to be alone?" Ella was shocked. Didn't he have anything better to do?

"No I've just been sensing when I had a free moment. Phoebe told me what happened between you and Byron yesterday and I wanted to see how you were."

"When did you talk to Phoebe?"

"While you were at work."

Ella started to panic. "Did something happen? Are they both ok?" She asked.

"They're fine. Phoebe called me down to talk."

"To talk about…" She hinted at him to continue.

"Nothing important." Leo added quickly.

Phoebe had given him 'the talk' about what would happen if he hurt her sister, to which he had assured her that he could never hurt her. Being threatened by Ella's younger sister was not something that Leo was willingly going to admit to. He certainly wasn't going to tell her how intimidating Phoebe could be when she wanted to. Besides, Ella probably already knew, having lived with her through her rebellious teenage years.

Leo continued. "So how did Byron take the news?" He asked.

"As well as can be expected." Ella laughed slightly. She knew that she was at the point where if she didn't laugh about it she'd end up crying instead. "He was freaked and probably quite scared, especially after he found out that Prue was a ghost." She paused for a second, unsure of whether to continue or avoid the potentially awkward conversation about Byron's affair. "He seemed to think that me lying for so long to protect him compared with what he did."

"I stand by my judgment. He's an idiot for letting you go."

"You wouldn't say that if you saw the young, leggy blonde that he's been seeing behind my back."

Leo took a seat beside her, upset by her lack of self esteem after what Byron did to her. "I'm sure she's nothing compared to you." He said, the sincerity in his voice causing Ella to blush.

"Thank you." Ella said softly, believing that Leo was only really saying it to cheer her up, yet wanting to accept his compliment anyway.

"I mean it, Piper."

Tears began to form in Ella's eyes but she quickly looked away to hide them and dabbed them away with her sleeve.

Leo lifted his hand to her chin and gently turned her head to face him. He was about to lean in to kiss her when the uncertainty in her eyes sopped him. "Do you want this?" He asked.

Ella nodded. "I do it's just…" She hesitated, not knowing how to put what she was feeling in to words. "It's been less than a day since me and Byron ended things. We're moving a little fast, aren't we?" She asked, hoping for confirmation.

"Is that what you think or what you believe others will say?"

"I don't know." Ella answered honestly. "What happened between me and Byron doesn't even feel real yet. I need time to let that sink in. Plus Rosewood is a very small town and I know people will gossip. I guess there's really no avoiding that."

"Are you going to get a divorce?" Leo asked her.

"I assume so. I might call Veronica later and ask if she knows anyone who can help. I don't want the first I know about it being him giving me the papers to sign. Seems a little bit cliché doesn't it?" She forced a laugh. Unfortunately for her pride, Leo could see right through it.

"You don't have to put on a brave face." Leo insisted. "We know each other well enough."

"I need to, for myself and my kids. Aria's been through enough and Mike loves his dad. I can't take that away from him. I'm staying strong about this for them."

Leo pulled her into a hug and Ella gratefully accepted, resting her head against his shoulder. She brushed away the few tears that fell as she enjoyed the comfort that being close to someone she loved gave her. It had been so long since Byron had been like this with her that she'd almost forgotten how good it felt.

"I'll wait for you, Piper. I'll wait as long as you need me to." He whispered.

"Thank you." Ella replied, so quietly that Leo was half convinced he'd imagined it.

Neither party was sure how long they had stayed like that. They were only brought out of their safe embrace by the sound of a car coming up the driveway. Leo sent Ella an apologetic look and said goodbye before orbing out. Ella wiped her eyes so that no one could tell she'd been crying and picked up the book that she'd been planning on reading.

Paige unlocked the front door and stepped inside, her hands full of shopping bags. Phoebe followed soon after, having picked up her own bags and locked the car behind them.

"Looks like you've been busy." Ella commented.

"We figured after vanquishing the Source we deserved a bit of retail therapy." Paige smiled.

"A bit? You must've brought home the whole of Rosewood Mall."

"We got you a little present as well." Phoebe said cheerfully, fishing through one of the many bags in front of her until she came across what she was looking for. "Here it is. Close your eyes." She laughed and Ella obliged with a small sigh at her childishness. She held out her hands and Phoebe placed a small box in them. Ella opened her eyes and looked inside the box. It contained a delicate necklace with a small triquetra symbol hanging from it.

"It's beautiful, thank you." Ella gushed.

"We just wanted to treat you and remind you that as your sisters we are always here for you, especially when certain men are being jerks." Paige explained.

Phoebe got something else out of one of her bags. She held it up and Ella could see that it was a bottle of her favorite wine. "And this is for you as well." She said before walking in to the kitchen and placing it in the fridge to chill. "I have a feeling we're going to need more than that though." She added once she returned.

"Maybe we could save it for tomorrow night?" Ella suggested. "I've invited one of my colleagues over for dinner and it would go great with the fish I'm planning on cooking."

"Who's this colleague?" Phoebe asked.

"It's not the one who Aria's seeing is it?" Paige added.

Ella sighed, annoyed upon realizing that there was something else she was yet to sort out in her life. "No it's not. He's the guidance counselor and yesterday was his first day in town so I invited him and his brother over so that they get can to know some people." She explained.

"Is he cute?" Phoebe asked.

"He's probably a bit young for you." Ella laughed and Phoebe feigned offence. "Anyway it would seem kind of weird since his last name is Halliwell."

"Do you think he's related to us?" Phoebe wondered.

"I don't know. I mentioned it but he didn't seem to think so."

"If he was, would he be a witch… or whatever a male version of a witch is… as well?" Paige asked.

"I don't think so. As far as I know our family magic is passed down through the women. Mike has never shown any sign of having powers." Ella replied.

"But I'm assuming there can still be male witches?" Paige said.

"Yeah I think so if they were from a different family. Melinda's prophecy only referred to women in our family but that might not be true for others." Phoebe explained. She heard her phone ringing from her purse and excused herself to answer it.

While she was out of the room, Paige and Ella started to unpack the rest of the groceries that Ella hadn't managed to put away when she got home. Phoebe came back in to the kitchen and placed her phone on the counter.

"That was Elise." Phoebe said. "She's just emailed me over the letters she wants included in my column so I should get to work. Do you mind if I borrow your laptop?" She asked Ella.

"No problem. It's in my work bag." Ella replied, pointing to the bag by the bottom of the stairs.

"Thanks." She replied, taking the laptop to the table and opening up her emails.

Ella and Paige finished what they were doing before retreating to the living room to give Phoebe some peace to do her work.

The following afternoon came way too quickly for Ella's liking and she found herself rushing home to start the meal, realizing that she hadn't left herself much time to cook it. The second she arrived home from work she headed to the kitchen to begin preparing the fish. Phoebe and Paige agreed to help tidy up the house while Ella cooked and Mike and Aria were upstairs working on various homework assignments for school. Neither of them were particularly pleased that their mom had invited the school guidance counselor for dinner but they were used to it. It wasn't the first time one of their teachers had been invited for a dinner party and each time was equally as awkward as the last.

The doorbell rang just as Ella was adding the finishing touches to the meal before putting it in the oven. Ella headed over to the front door to greet her guests.

"Hi Wyatt." She smiled before looking over to the man standing next to him. "And I'm assuming you're Chris?"

"It's nice to meet you, Ella." Chris replied. "This is for you." He said, holding up a bottle of wine identical to the one that Phoebe and Paige had bought her the day before.

"Thank you. Come on in." Ella said, taking a step back so that they could come through. She marveled at how they had chosen her favorite wine. It was a weird coincidence and she felt slightly guilty as she knew how expensive a bottle of it was. They followed her to the living room where Phoebe and Paige were sat. "Wyatt, Chris, these are my sisters Phoebe and Paige." She introduced them. "My kids should be down in a minute. They both go to Rosewood High so there's a chance you've seen them in the halls." She added, looking at Wyatt.

The five adults made small-talk for a while and were soon joined by Mike and Aria. After some time Chris excused himself to go to the bathroom. A knowing look was exchanged between him and Wyatt that went unnoticed by the rest of their company.

Once Chris had locked the door to the bathroom, he orbed the short distance to the attic. Seeing what he was looking for, he walked over to the Book of Shadows, which was sitting on the stand as he had expected. He flicked through the pages of the old book, feeling slightly smug that it could tell he was good. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to touch it but was relieved that he could. It made finding the information he needed a lot easier.

Meanwhile, Phoebe was getting up to refill people's glasses.

"Do you think Chris will want another glass?" She asked Wyatt, who nodded.

Phoebe picked up Chris' glass and felt herself getting slightly light-headed as a premonition hit her, catching her off-guard.

A demon appeared in a puff of dark smoke in the attic and sent a fireball in the direction of a young man stood behind the Book of Shadows. The man was able to duck out of the way, narrowly avoiding hit. He stood back up again, giving Phoebe a clear view of his face. It was Chris.

She saw Piper blow the demon up just as it was about to throw a second fireball.

Phoebe gasped as her vision cleared and she felt herself being drawn back to the present where Wyatt and Mike were looking at her with concern, while she could tell her sisters and neice were curious about what she saw.

"I've just remembered there was something in the attic earlier that I wanted to show you both." She said to Paige and Ella.

Ella turned to her guest. "We'll just be a minute. By the time we get back dinner should be ready." She smiled.

Wyatt nodded and started talking to Mike about the latest football match between their shared favorite team.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Ella asked Phoebe what she had seen.

"Chris is in the attic looking at the book. He's about to get attacked by a demon." She whispered, her tone urgent.

"He's at the Book?" Ella asked.

"I don't think we have much time. We can question him later." She said and the three sisters rushed upstairs just in time to see Chris dodging the demon's attack.

Ella's hands were already poised in position and she was able to blow up the demon with ease, being thankful that it was only a lower level demon.

"Thanks." Chris said.

"Never mind that, what the hell are you doing up here?" She shouted at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"You're taking this surprisingly well." Paige commented suspiciously.

"I'm just in shock… I guess." Chris stuttered, struggling to come up with an explanation.

"We need to talk about this." Phoebe insisted. "What do you know?"

"Nothing. I won't say anything, I promise."

"You still haven't explained why you were up here in the first place." Ella said firmly, the distrust evident in her voice.

Chris decided to bite the metaphorical bullet and come out with a half-truth that he could make them believe.

"I'm actually a Whitelighter. Well, half-Whitelighter technically. So is Wyatt."

"Prove it." Paige said. She was almost expecting nothing to happen but Chris was able to successfully orb to behind the sisters and then back to where he was stood next to the book.

"And you think that gives you the right to go through our Book of Shadows?" Phoebe asked.

"I needed some information."

"You knew we were witches, why couldn't you just ask us earlier?"

"You weren't supposed to even find out this early." Chris said, regretting it almost instantly.

"Have you been stalking us?" Paige asked.

Ella didn't give him a chance to reply. "Get out!" She shouted. "I want you and your brother out of this house!"

"But…" Chris started to plead his case.

"I don't want to hear it. Get out! Both of you! Now!" She shouted, blowing up Grams' old couch in anger.

Chris gave in, knowing that he would get no further in his mission tonight. The three sisters followed him downstairs and he and Wyatt left without saying another word to them.

Once they were gone, Ella served up dinner and the family sat in silence eating. The three sisters were trying to process what they had seen and Aria and Mike could tell that something had put their mom in a bad mood and knew not to test her in that situation. Aria figured that she would ask Paige or Phoebe about what happened later.