Hey everyone! Kudos again to you brilliant reviewers... I don't know what I'd do without you all. I wrote this chapter in about an hour, so don't expect anything wonderful, I just really wanted to finish another post before this weekend was through. The next chapter will be quality – I promise, if only just to make up for this.
As usual, review if you have time and... Enjoy!
"Heya speedster! Slow down a sec, will ya?" Paige called out to her niece who was already skipping down the sidewalk. "Wait up for your ol' auntie - she's wearing the wrong shoes! And hey! That's not even the right way to the park, ya little munchkin!"
"Oops!" Paisley giggled, a contagious smile spreading across her face. A look of worry quickly replaced that wonderful smile, however, as she realized that Paige was her sole companion on this particular outing.
"Where's my mommy?" she asked frantically.
As Paige looked down at the small child before her, she noticed how quickly her eyes glossed over with tears. She couldn't help but think that the relationship that Phoebe and her daughter shared was rather unhealthy. The little girl was hardly able to spend even five minutes without her mother attached securely to her side.
In an attempt to cheer up the devastated child, Paige said, "Your mom is talking to Piper - - Oops! That's Aunt Piper to you, I guess. And they need to have some quiet so they can figure some things out. But don't worry; we'll have even more fun with just the two of us!"
Apparently this did nothing to lighten up the poor girl's broken heart as Paisley cried, "But she needs me. If my mommy gets hurt, who will call for Uncle Weo?"
"Awe, kiddo, you don't have to be worried about that," Paige sympathized as she scooped Paisley up into her arms and headed towards the park. "Your mom's safe in our house because she's not alone – Piper's with her, and she's a very powerful witch."
"Because she can fweeze wike me?" Paisley questioned hopefully.
"Exactly!" Paige confirmed with a smile. "Now let's go to the park and have some fun!"
As the duo neared the end of the street, Paige caught a glimpse of a man crossing the road towards them. He moved closer and Paige gasped in surprise upon immediately recognizing him. Taking a deep breath, but her voice coming out no louder than a squeak, Paige breathed, "Oh my god. Cole."
"Paige," Cole breathed anxiously as he watched her place Paisley onto the ground. "Where's Phoebe?"
"I've told you already, she doesn't live here anymore. You know that," Paige said calmly, her arms crossed over her chest as she carefully looked him over.
"Don't lie to me, Paige," Cole grumbled angrily. "I know that you've never liked me, but this time I know she's back. I can feel it."
"Well maybe she just doesn't want to have anything to do with you anymore," stated Paige bitterly.
"That might be true," Cole continued. "But I'd rather hear it from her... and I'm not leaving until I do."
"Don't you ever get tired of this charade?" Paige burst out angrily, raising her voice. "She doesn't love you and she damn well doesn't want to see you ever again. Every time you try to jump back into her life, you only end up hurting her more. I'm not about to stand and watch while my sister is crushed by you yet again. You say that you love her Cole, then why won't you just stay the hell away?"
"Whoa, Paige!" started Cole. "Watch your language – in front of the little one, I mean... She's not yours, is she? No. That's Phoebe's daughter. Am I right?"
"How do you know?" Paige questioned suspiciously.
"Well, just look at her," Cole said as he pointed to the little girl. "She looks exactly like her."
"Who are you?" Paisley asked the man who pointed at her, sensing that she was the topic of their conversation.
"I'm Cole," he simply replied while bending down to reach her level.
"Cole..." Paisley said thoughtfully before continuing excitedly. "That's wike my name!"
Cole laughed to himself before asking, "And what might your name be?"
"Paiwey Nicole Hawiwell," Paisley recited with a smile. "See, we're wike twins!"
"Cole glanced up at Paige, his face filled with confusion as she clarified, "Paisley. Her name is Paisley."
He nodded understandingly before turning back to the little girl and smiling, "That's a beautiful name, Paisley and it was a pleasure to meet you," Cole said while standing back up and directing his gaze towards Paige. "But right now, I've got to go and see Phoebe."
Paige opened her mouth in protest, but the tiny girl standing beside her stole the words right out of her mouth, "Mister Cole, we can't go see my mommy 'cause she needs quiet so she can talk about important things with Aunt Piper."
Cole looked at Paige, who responded with a pleading glance, but again, it was the tiniest person who broke the silence, while slipping her little hand into Cole's, "But you can come to the park with us."
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Paige interrupted hesitantly.
"Well I think that it's a marvelous idea," Cole exclaimed as he lifted Paisley into his arms and headed in the direction of the park. "We'll go to the park, and then I can talk to Phoebe when we come back."
"But - -" Paige started before throwing her arms up in defeat and running to catch up to the pair, muttering under her breath. "Phoebe's gonna kill me."
-x-x-x-x-
Paige and Cole sat uncomfortably beside one another as they watched Paisley safely amuse herself on the playground. Cole chuckled as he watched her give some poor little boy next to her a sand and mud makeover, before turning to Paige and declaring, "She's just like Phoebe, isn't she?"
"I don't really know," Paige replied. "I only just met her a couple of days ago."
"When Phoebe came back," Cole offered.
"Yeah..." Paige said, her voice rising slightly as she continued. "You know Cole, for someone who claims to have no idea about where Phoebe's been for the past four years, you seem to know an awful lot about her."
"Oh Paige, you really never give up do you?" Cole chortled. "Phoebe's love for me kept me alive and I used it to rebuild my body and strength. She unconsciously gave me a piece of herself... a piece of her heart actually, to be exact. That's what keeps me alive – and it also keeps me connected to her. I felt the emptiness when she left, and now... now I can feel her inside of me. A couple of days ago, it was like my heart exploded – that's when I knew that she was back. I feel so... so alive again."
"What do you want with her?" Paige whispered angrily as she continued passionately. "Wait, don't tell me – you're going to sweep her up into your arms, tell her how much you love her and just expect everything to be happily ever after."
"No," He said simply. "I know that she loves me. I can feel it... But I do need to warn her about something... something big."
"Might this have something to do with All Hallows Eve, by any chance?" Paige questioned and upon receiving a hesitant nod in agreement, continued. "Well you can spare yourself some time... she already knows. But how do you know?"
"I was a demon once upon a time, Paige," Cole said blatantly. "But I don't think that you need to be reminded of that little fact, because I'll always be a demon to you. That's beside the point. The fact is, I have a source - -"
"The Source?" Paige interrupted suspiciously.
"A source," Cole emphasized impatiently. "As in a source of information – a demon who owed me a favour. But it's not something that witches are supposed to know. How did she find out?"
"She didn't say..." Paige informed him worriedly.
"That is worrisome... Wait a minute... where's Paisley?" Cole asked as he glanced around the park anxiously.
"Shit! We couldn't have lost her – she was just here!" Paige yelled as she jumped up and started searching frantically with her eyes.
Cole grabbed a hold of Paige's arm and directed her in the direction of where Paisley stood talking with a strange man and whispered, "I found her. She's safe."
"Oh my god, Paisley!" Paige yelled as she wriggled out of Cole's grasp and sprinted towards her niece, scooping her up into her arms and hugging her tight. "Don't do that to me, Paisley – don't you ever, ever do that again. Promise?"
"I pwromise Paige," Paisley murmured.
"That's Aunt Paige, missy," Paige corrected.
"I'm sorry about that sir," Cole said sincerely to the man that Paisley had been conversing with. "I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble."
"Oh, no bother," the man replied before turning around and walking away.
"That was strange," Cole muttered to himself before turning back to Paisley and asking her, "Did you know that man?"
"Yup!" Paisley responded, apparently not at all bothered by what had just occurred. "That was my daddy."
"What!" both Cole and Paige cried in unison.
That's all for now, folks... sorry to leave you hanging, but there will be more to come soon. Tomorrow, possibly. We'll see.
Until next time... keep it real.