It'll always be magic
AN: Ok, here it is the sequel to Despite it all. I think you probably have to read that to understand this; I'll try and work in some explanations, but I'm making no promises – sorry. But for anyone that hasn't read, I guess I'll just said that it deal with bringing Cole back. Sorry it has taken so long.
Disclaimer: Neither Charmed nor any of its characters belong to me, well except Bryan and his family. So, please don't sue.
Chapter 5: Dinner's served
"Is that a new top?" Phoebe asked Paige as the two sisters came downstairs with Wyatt and Chris.
"Yes, it is." Paige answered as she smoothed her hand down the top. "You like it?" She asked hopefully as she gazed at Phoebe with a somewhat anxious expression.
"Yes, sweetie," Phoebe answered with a smile, that she hid by burying her face in Chris's neck and nuzzling him. "You look great." She added knowing what was in her sister's mind.
"Really?" Paige asked as she fluffed her hair. She hadn't had as much time to fuss with it as she would have liked – primarily because she had taken way too much time to decide what to wear to dinner. 'To a family dinner, for pete's sake!' she though with a half annoyed shake of her head.
"Yes, really," Phoebe reassured her as they reached the landing. They turned towards the dinning room and as they passed the doorway, she yelled, "Guys, come on. Dinner is ready."
Piper was coming into the dinning room carrying the salad bowl just as they reached the dinning room entryway.
"Mommy," both Wyatt and Chris yelled as soon as they saw her. The boys loved their aunts dearly, but nothing beat a hug from mommy. Wyatt dropped Paige's hand and run towards Piper for a hug. Chris squirmed in Phoebe's arms until she put him down and then he too run towards Piper.
Piper reached the dinning room table and put the bowl down just in time kneel and catch both her boys to her in a big hug. "Hey, guys. How were your naps?" She asked with a grin and then proceeded to calmly listened to them as they told her everything that had happened since Phoebe had taken them upstairs for their naps.
Phoebe and Paige looked on with tender smiles, both glad to see Piper and the boys together and happy. There had been way too many times when these types of scenes had been in jeopardy and they took every chance they could to relish them. A noise from the side made them turned and they smiled as they saw the guys come into the dinning room.
Leo's grin at the sight of his wife and kids was nothing short of spectacular and it warned the heart of everyone present. "Hey, little men. You're up." He said as he walked towards them.
The kids turned at his voice and as one yelled, "Daddy," and raced to hug him.
Piper's face took on the same goofy grin Leo had had a few moments before when she saw her husband and kids together. With a silent thank you God for her family, Piper stood back up and turned to the other members of her family. "Hey. Take a seat." She said with a wave towards the table.
Phoebe took Cole's arm and tugged him to their seats. Paige smiled at Bryan and with a wave of her own indicated that he should take a seat next to hers. That had actually been decided before the girls met Bryan as she was the only one of the sisters that didn't have a partner.
Leo sat at one end of the table with Piper on his right and Wyatt and Chris at either side of each other – they took turns on who sat next to whom. It had been decided fairly early on by everyone that the kids would always eat their meals with the grown up. No one in the family agreed with the practice of feeding the kids before the adults; not only would that mean that someone would have to supervise them while the others had dinner but dinner was a time for family and somethingin which theyshould included and not excluded from – regardless of how messy or chaotic it could get from time to time.
Cole had, to his great surprise, been assigned the other end of the table and Phoebe sat at left so that she could be next to whoever sat next to Piper. Paige sat on the other side next to the boy that was sited next to Leo, that way both boys had an adult at either side of him. Cole was able to feed the kids by himself nowadays but back when he'd had first come back and he'd been give his seat, he was too leery of the kids to actually be of any help with them so Phoebe had sat on his left instead of his right.
Bryan took his seat and saw the ease with which the family settled the kids onto their seats. It looked like a well oiled machine or a much orchestrated ballet. Even Cole was involved as he deftly helped Phoebe settled Wyatt into his seat, since Piper had run back to the kitchen to bring back the dressing and croutons for the salad. In a matter of minutes the whole family was seated and the dishes were being passed to and from as they helped themselves and started eating dinner.
Dinner was progressing smoothly; everyone was having a good time talking and eating. Sometime during the main course, Phoebe, said to Bryan, "So, Bryan tells a bit more about yourself." After all, there was no reason to wait until she could get to the BOS to start her research. Out of the corner of her eye, Phoebe saw Piper give a slight nod in her direction.
Bryan put down the glass of the wine he had been drinking from and said, "There's not much to tell, really. Besides, I thought Cole here had told you guys all about me." He added with a smirk in Cole's direction.
Cole returned the smirk as Phoebe said, "Well, he has talked about you, but it was mostly stuff relating to your job. He's mentioned you're a brilliant litigator that often uses inspired arguments,"
Bryan couldn't let that one go and said, "Well, he's right on the money."
"Oh, I'm sure he is," Piper said dryly. "But it doesn't really tell us much about you except that you know how to argue. And given that you're his friend, that was pretty much self-evident."
Paige who was also intensely curious about Bryan, albeit for completely different reasons, said, "Macintyre. Are you Scottish?"
"Yes, I am." Bryan answered. "A highlander born and bred."
"How you lived in the States long?" She asked.
"About seven years now," He answered.
"Um, you don't have much of a Scottish accent," Paige, who had a British charge and was often called to the UK, said. "In fact, you have more a British accent than anything else."
Bryan smiled at her and inclined his head in a half nod, "You're right. That's because I went secondary school and to University in Britain: Eaton and Oxford. After so many years among the Brits I lost my brogue. Of course being here in the States has also eroded the British accent. But one never really forgets one's mother tongue and all it takes is being back in Scotland or back among my family and the brogue is back with a vengeance."
"Are you the only member of your family that lives in the States?" Paige asked as she picked her glass of wine, which she hastily had to put down to stop Chris from orbing a bun to his side.
"No, I have one sister in Boston and another in DC. But the rest of the family is back in the UK."
"How many sisters and/or brothers do you have?" Phoebe asked to bring Bryan's attention to her and take it from Paige who was still battling with Chris and his trying to orb stuff to his side. Maybe sitting down with the children to dinner hadn't been their smartest decision.
"Six sisters; all older than me," Bryan said with a smile as he thought of his sisters.
Leo's head snapped up at that just as Cole's eyes narrowed. "You're the seventh son?" Leo asked in what he hoped was a calm tone. He saw from Cole's expression that he was thinking the same thing as him.
"Yeah," Bryan answered with a soft laugh as he picked up his wine glass. "Weird uh? But you know what's even weirder than that?"
"No," Cole answered with an almost normal smile on his face. "What's weirder than that?" Both Piper and Phoebe had noticed the tight expressions on Leo and Coles' faces. Paige, however, had not. She was too preoccupied trying to keep Chris contained and listening to Bryan talk to pay any attention to her brothers-in-law.
"That I'm the seventh son of the seventh son," He said with a wry chuckle and a shake of his head. "If you knew the ribbing I had to put up with whenever that little tidbit came up," he added with another shake of his head and a long sigh.
"Kids can be cruel, can't they?" Paige asked in all sympathy as she put her hand on top of Bryan's.
"Yes, they can." He answered firmly. "Though to be fair, not all the ribbing occurred while I was in school."
"Oh, well kids don't have a monopoly on cruelty after all," Paige retorted with a final squeeze of his hand before letting it go and turning back to her dinner.
"So, you have a big family?" Phoebe asked.
"Oh, yeah. I have siblings and cousins and nephews and nieces all over the UK."
"Are you and your two sisters the only ones to leave the UK?" Piper asked.
"Yeah," Bryan answered. "Everyone else was content to stay close to home."
"You miss it, don't you?" Paige asked in a soft tone, she could hear the yearning for home in Bryan's tone.
"Oh, yeah," Bryan answered without hesitation. "I miss it a great deal. It is home after all. But, this is where the job I love brought me and this is where I need to be. There's really no point in dwelling on being homesick."
"Do you get to go home much?" Piper asked as she wiped Wyatt's mouth.
"As often as I can," answered Bryan cheerfully.
"Yeah, I would too if I was living far from home," Paige answered firmly. She couldn't imagine being far from her sisters. "I can't imagine not seeing my sisters or the kids or the guys everyday." Paige said as she thought that having lost one family there was no way on Earth she was going to lose another one.
"It is hard," Bryan confirmed. "And not only being away from the family but also being away from the land. It's funny," he said shaking his head. "I never wanted to be anything that would tie me to the land. I always enjoyed the big cities. But the longer I'm away the more I miss the mountains, the grass, the trees – hell, even the air. There's just nothing quite like the feel of the highlands." He finished wistfully.
"Yeah, I hear it is magnificent," Paige said with a little sigh.
"You've never been?" Bryan asked her, for some reason he had been sure that Paige had visited Scotland.
Paige shook her head regretfully as she answered. "No. I've been to England and Ireland. I've even been to the lowlands but I've never made it to the highlands. If it is anything like the mountains of Ireland, it is gorgeous."
"Oh, it's even better than Ireland, believe me." Bryan said with the conviction of a true highlander. "You should go; you should all go. In fact," he added as something occurred to him. "You should come up for my birthday."
"Your birthday?" Paige asked, interested.
"Yeah, it's coming up in the next few months. I'm turning thirty and there's this tradition in my family where we all get together for our birthdays, especially our thirty birthdays."
"That sounds like fun," Paige said. "We could go, right?" She asked the family looking around the table.
"Sure," Leo said as hewiped Chris's face. "We could use a vacation and Scotland sounds like a great place for one. When's your birthday?"
"September 23," Bryan answered as he made funny faces at Wyatt, who grinned and clapped his hands.
He was so engrossed with the play that he failed to notice the glances that Leo and Cole shared. Piper and Phoebe, however, did not.
"September 23?" Cole asked in his most casual tone. "The autumn equinox?"
"Yeah," Bryan answered with a grin as turned his attention to Cole. "I was actually born right at midnight between the 22 and 23."
"Midnight – the 'tween hour," Piper said under her breath, exchanging a glance with Phoebe.
It wasn't quite low enough as Bryan heard her. "Yeah, that's what my grandma called that time."
"It's supposed to be a magical time," Paige said casually while Piper, Phoebe, Leo and Cole exchanged glances.
"Yeah, that's what I've heard," Bryan said with a chuckle.
"You don't believe it?" Paige asked. She didn't think Bryan was magical but it was always good to check this things – just what her sisters where thinking; though, they were sure that Bryan was magical and were just looking for confirmation.
"Well, I've never been able to do anything out of the ordinary, so there's nothing to believe in," Bryan answered.
"Ah, but isn't faith the act of believing in something you can't see or prove?" Leo asked as he took a sip of wine.
"Ah, Leo," Cole said with a chuckle before Bryan could answer. "Bryan is a pragmatist and skeptic. He wouldn't believe something he couldn't see or touch."
"Cole's right," Bryan confirmed.
"But if you had proof, you'd believe magic existed?" Phoebe asked. "Or would you do anything to deny you'd seen anything?"
"If I saw something magical, then I'd have to believe it, wouldn't I? I may be a pragmatist and skeptic but to deny something I've seen with my own eyes would mean I'm in denial. And if there's one thing I can't really abide is denial." He paused to take a sip of his wine and continued, "To tell you the truth, I'd almost enjoy seeing proof that magic exists."
"Really?" Asked Piper with a nervous smile. "How come?"
"Well," Bryan answered as he twirled his fork around for a little while. "I grew up in Scotland, hearing all sort of stories about the Sídhe and the Otherworld." He shrugged and with a self-deprecating grin, said, "I guess there's still a little boy inside of me that would like to believe magic is real."
Paige grinned and said, "Well, that's the thing with magic, isn't it? You never know when you might find it."
Phoebe almost choked on her wine and Piper froze for a second before she said, "Personally, I see magic every time I see the kids smile at me."
"Piper's right," Leo agreed, following Piper's lead and leading the conversation away from such a sensitive subject. "We can find magic all around us. It's just a matter of looking."
Cole agreed saying that he saw magic every time he looked into Phoebe's eyes and saw love there. Phoebe followed their example and soon the conversation had moved from magic and they passed the rest of the dinner engaged in pleasant conversation.
A while later, dinner was finished and while the kids amused themselves with their toys in a corner of the living room, the adults sat around having a night cup. Suddenly, Paige looked up with a sigh. Piper noticed it and asked, "Something wrong, sweetie?"
Paige looked at Bryan who was engaged in an animated conversation with Leo and Phoebe and said as she got up, "No, nothing. I just remembered that I need to make a very important phone call."
Bryan looked over when he saw Paige stand up and then he looked at his watch and saw the time. "I hadn't realized it'd gotten this late. I better go. There's some stuff I have to take care of." And with that he too stood up.
"Wyatt, give that back to your brother," Piper said as she heard Chris cry and then she turned to Bryan. "It was a pleasure to finally meet you, Bryan." And the amazing thing was she meant it. Whatever Bryan was, he was also a very nice man.
"And you too, Piper," Bryan said as he came up to her and shook her hand. "And Leo and Cole were right. You're one of the best cooks I've ever met. Have you ever thought about opening your own restaurant? I know you own P3 but they don't sever much food there." He knew because he'd been there quite a few times.
Piper laughed and said, "Only every other day. It's my dream but for right now P3 suits my needs better. A restaurant would demand too much of my time and right now my kids and family," not to mention her witchcraft, "are my priority. And I still get to cook for the odd catering job and whenever we have special events."
"Well, if you ever decide to go into business, let me know. I'd love to be involved."
"I'll keep that in mind," Piper said and turned sharply towards the kids as they starting screaming. "Kids, no." And with that she hurried towards them to calm them down.
Bryan turned towards Phoebe next and said, "You're even lovelier than Cole said, and I didn't think that was possible. It was a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure was mine," Phoebe said as they shook hands. And like Piper before, she too meant it.
Bryan then turned to Paige and took one of her hands in both of his. "Paige it was lovely to meet you. What do you say we go to see that movie tomorrow and then we can have some coffee and you can tell me those stories about Cole you mentioned earlier?"
Paige grinned and said, "I'd love to. Call me tomorrow to set the time."
"I will," And unlike with Phoebe and Piper, he brought Paige's hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. "Until tomorrow."
"Leo, it was fun. We should do it again." He said as they shook hands.
"I'd like that. There's a game next week. I'll see if I can get some tickets." Leo offered.
"Let me know if you get them," Bryan then turned to Cole who told him he'd walked him out.
As soon as they left the living room, Paige snapped out of the dreamy fog Bryan's gesture hadsent her to andsaid, "I better go. It sounds important."
"Maybe you should go to the kitchen and orb from there, just in case." Piper suggested from where she was sitting down with the kids.
"Yeah, you're right. I'll see you guys later."
As soon as she was out of the room, Phoebe got up and after a glance and a nod form Piper, she ran up the stairs. She run into Cole as he was coming back in and said, "I'll be back in a minute, baby."
Cole saw her go and then went back into the living room. "Where's Phoebe off in such a hurry?"
"She's gone to bring the BOS," Piper answered as she took a seat in the couch. "How come you didn't tell us he was magic?" Piper asked going straight to the point, as always.
"Because I didn't know," Cole answered as he too sat down.
"And how come you didn't know?" Piper asked again. "Aren't you supposed to know these things?"
"He's never done anything remotely magical around me, how was I to know that he's magic? And anyway, Leo also didn't know."
"Yeah, Leo," Piper said, turning to look at her husband. "How come you didn't know?"
Leo shrugged and said, "I don't have my powers anymore, Piper; you know that. And like Cole said, he hasn't done anything remotely magical around me."
Phoebe came back in time to hear the last and said, "Whether he's done something magical or not, he's definitely magic. We all agree, right?"
A wave of yes came from everybody present.
Phoebe nodded and sat down with the Book as she said, "Now, we just have to find out what he is." And she started to flip through the book.
"And how are you going to find it in the book? We have no idea where we should even begin to look," Piper said even as she scooted closer to Phoebe so she too could look through the Book.
"I'll just go page by page, if that's what I have to do," Phoebe answered as she started doing just that. "Did you see the way Paige was looking at him? And the way he looked at her? I'm telling you, Piper, those two are going to fall for each other. If they haven't all ready."
"I know. I'm worry too," Piper admitted responding to the worry she heard in Phoebe's tone. "But this is going to take us forever."
Leo looked at Cole and with a sigh he admitted. "No, it won't. I know what he is." And at the look in Phoebe'sand Piper's face at that announcement, he qualified. "At least I'm pretty sure I know what he is."
"How?" Piper asked. "I thought you said he hasn't done anything magical. How can you know what he is all of the sudden?"
"He hasn't done anything magical. But that's not necessary; I know becuase of what he said at dinner." He looked to Cole for confirmation and with a grimace, Cole nodded his agreement.
"So?" Phoebe asked impatiently, turning to look back at Leo after seeing Cole's nod. "What is he?"
Leo took a deep breath and said something he would have never thought he'd said. "He's a druid."
AN2: Ok, before I get into the explanation, I better say that everything I'm going to be saying comes straight from my imagination. I have done some research into the druids but most of what I know comes from the romance novels I've read. So, please don't expect a lot of historical accuracy. Of course, you're all reading a fanfic based on a supernatural tv show, so I guess that's not much of a problem, eh:) I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you thougth of it. Reviews really encourage me to keep writing.