Phoebe stares at her sister in bed with Cole -- HER Cole, the man she had been trying so desperately to let go of. A shocking feeling of anger and jealousy flowed through Phoebe's body as she stood there, completely speechless.
"Phoebe -- what are you doing here?" Paige asks, not sure if she should feel furious or guilty, but feeling twinges of both just the same.
"I -- I don't know." Phoebe replies, trying desperately not to make eye contact with either of them. Not knowing what else to say, she turns and starts to head out the door.
"Phoebe, wait!" Cole shouts, wrapping a sheet around his waist. He shimmers out of the room and to the front door, blocking her exit.
"Get out of my way, Cole." Phoebe tells him.
"Phoebe -- I just want you to know that -- this wasn't something that either of us planned. It just kind of -- happened. So don't blame Paige." Cole states.
"Don't tell me who to blame, Cole. And hey, you're a free man now, Paige is single -- you two can do whatever the hell you want -- you can do it IN hell, for all I care. Have a party!" Phoebe notices Paige entering the room, wearing one of Cole's shirts. "By the way, Paige, you might want to invest in a good pair of earplugs, because he snores." Phoebe states. She shoves Cole out the way and leaves, slamming the door behind her.
"I don't snore." Cole replies as she leaves, looking somewhat offended at the comment. He then looks up at Paige. "Hey, that's one of my best shirts."
"Well, I'm sorry, I had to find SOMETHING to wear seeing as how you RIPPED mine off!" Paige retorts.
Cole sits down on the couch and sighs, still covering himself from the waist down with the sheet from his bed. "Paige, what the hell are we doing here? I mean, come on -- I'm a demon, you're half whitelighter, we're having an affair, and I'm still in love with your sister."
"Yeah, you're right." Paige replies, sitting down next to him. "You want me to call Jerry Springer, I bet they'd book us in a heartbeat."
"Oh, you're really funny, Paige." Cole replies.
"She's still in love with you, you know." Paige tells him.
"Yeah, well she sure as hell has a funny way of showing it." Cole remarks.
"Cole -- what do you want to do now?"
"I don't know what I want, Paige -- I'm just tired. I'm tired of being a demon and I'm tired of fighting with Phoebe and I'm tired of trying to prove my good intentions to you and your sisters and your holier-than-thou brother-in-law. I just want to go bury myself somewhere and hide, because -- because the human side of me just can't take the pain anymore. And since I've come back from the wasteland the only time I didn't feel that pain was --" Cole stops, and looks up at Paige in surprise.
"Was what?" Paige asks.
"With you. It was when I was with you. Maybe I've been focusing all of my energy on the wrong sister." Cole tells her, and he pulls her into a kiss.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning, Piper is in the kitchen making breakfast. Paige enters the kitchen, yawning and looking exhausted. "Good morning -- what time did you finally get in?" Piper asks.
"Later than I planned to." Paige replies, pouring herself a cup of tea.
"Yeah, Phoebe was pretty worried about you -- so, did she 'rescue' you from Cole?" Piper asks.
"I didn't need to be rescued." Paige replies.
"Wanna bet?" Phoebe says, entering the kitchen.
"Phoebe, don't start with me right now. I've got a busy day ahead of me." Paige tells her.
"Oh, I'm sure you do." Phoebe remarks in a rude tone of voice.
"Um, excuse me --- am I missing something here? What's going on with you two?" Piper asks.
"Do you want to fill her in on the the 'good news', or should I?" Phoebe asks Paige. Just then, Leo orbs into the room.
"Hey -- what's going on?" he asks, putting his arms around Piper and kissing her on the cheek.
"I have no clue." Piper replies, as the doorbell rings. "And I'm gonna go get that -- see if you can figure it out, Leo." Piper leaves the room. Paige and Phoebe both glare at one another, not saying a word.
"So -- is it me, or is the tension in this room so thick you could cut it with a knife?" Leo asks, breaking the silence. "What's going on with you two?"
"Ask him." Phoebe replies, as Cole enters the room, carrying a bouquet of flowers.
"Cole, you know, I'm tired of all of the drama between you and Phoebe." Piper says, following him into the room. "I have too much to worry about with the baby and whatever 'demon of the week' decides to visit us next and your daily stalking visits are really starting to get on my last nerve -- though I am impressed you actually rang the doorbell this time. But If you two want to duke it out, just take it somewhere else for once, please."
"Oh, I'm not here for Phoebe -- and these are for you." Cole says, with a big smile on his face, and he hands the flowers to Paige. Phoebe glares at both of them, and storms out of the room in a huff.
"Okay -- spill it. NOW. What's going on with you two?" Piper asks, extremely curious.
"Well, you see, it's just that --" Paige begins, but Cole interrupts.
"It's just that she's helping me on this custody case I've taken on. The dad is seeking sole custody of their son, and his ex-wife has a history of -- infidelity. Paige has offered to advise me on the case with some of her expertise from her social work days, and -- well, that's why I'm here." Cole states.
"Oh -- so that's what you were doing last night at Cole's place?" Piper asks.
"Uh -- yeah." Paige replies, putting her flowers in a vase. "And we've got a lot of work to do, so -- we'll get out of your way and go up to my room."
"Oh, we can leave, you can use the kitchen." Leo offers.
"Um, no thanks -- we'll be fine upstairs." Paige says, a look of semi-disgust coming over her face. "Come on Cole, let's go." They start to head out of the room.
"Oh, and Cole -- I just wanted to apologize, for not believing in you. It's pretty clear to me that you're trying really hard to be good." Piper says, as Cole turns around.
"Yeah -- and thanks for -- well, for what you did last night. You saved us." Leo says, chiming in.
"Thanks -- that really means a lot to me. And I swear, to both of you -- I'm only using my powers for good from now on. I mean it." Cole tells them, and he and Paige leave the room. Piper turns and looks at Leo.
"Leo -- do you get the feeling that -- I don't know, there's something they're not telling us?" Piper asks him.
"If you're thinking what I'm thinking -- can we just not go there right now?" Leo asks. Piper does a double take, looking toward the upstairs, at Leo, then back toward the upstairs.
"Oh, you don't think that -- ewwww!" Piper replies, wondering if there's any truth to Leo's suspicions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Now -- about that case, Miss Matthews." Cole says as they enter her room, pulling her close and kissing her on the lips, then moving his mouth down the nape of her neck, covering her with kisses.
"Cole, stop -- we can't do this here." Paige says, pushing him away.
"Why not?" Cole asks.
"Well, for one thing, Piper and Leo are right downstairs."
Cole replies jokingly, "What, you want them to join us? I mean, I'm not really into that sort of thing, but --"
"Oh, you're disgusting!" Paige says, plopping down onto the bed as Cole laughs. "Cole, I'm serious. I am NOT going to be some rebound transitional plaything for you to use until you can figure out a way to get Phoebe back."
"Is that what you think I'm doing? Using you?" Cole asks, offended.
"The thought has crossed my mind." Paige replies.
"Well, I didn't hear you complaining last night." Cole says, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Paige -- were you not listening to me when I told you being with you last night was the first time since I came back that I didn't feel like my heart was being ripped in half? Now I don't know why that is, but I'm sure as hell going to find out. And I dare you to look me in the eye and tell me that you don't feel some kind of connection between us." Paige doesn't say a word. "I want to see where this will take us, Paige. Because I honestly believe that you saved my life last night." After hearing these words, without hesitation, Paige reaches up and kisses him on the lips, pulling him down on top of her . . . .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the beach, Phoebe sits with her arms wrapped around her legs, fighting back her tears. "Maybe I should have stayed a mermaid. Oh, I hate MEN!" she shouts, and she stands up and picks up a stone, flinging it into the water. A large wave suddenly rushes toward her, knocking Phoebe to the ground and soaking her from head to to. When the water rolls away, Phoebe looks down on the ground and sees a mirror lying next to her. It's an old-fashioned, hand-held woman's mirror, its frame adorned with a flower that resembles a lily. "What is this?" she says to herself, picking it up, and looks at her reflection. "Oh, great, I look a mess. Not that it matters -- I'm not trying to impress anyone because I am SO tired of worrying about having a MAN in my life!" Suddenly a powerful force comes upon her, and Phoebe feels herself being pulled into another dimension. And within seconds she is pulled into the mirror that she was looking into. Phoebe finds herself in a dark and cold cave, its walls covered in mirrors, and a woman appears to her, seemingly from out of nowhere. The woman is tall, thin, and extremely beautiful, with long, flowing blonde hair and piercing blue/green eyes. She's dressed in a long red gown.
"Hello Phoebe." the woman says. Phoebe attempts to use her powers against her, but they are useless. "Your powers are of no use here." the woman tells her.
"Who are you?" Phoebe asks.
"A friend. You called for me -- and I answered." the woman replies.
"I never called you." Phoebe says angrily.
"'Oh, I hate men, I am so tired of worrying about having a man in my life' -- you did say that, right?" she asks, imitating Phoebe's voice. The woman puts her arm around Phoebe. "It's okay -- I know exactly how you feel. You see, I've been there too. Men are useless creatures, they really are. But I'm here to help you get through all of this, Phoebe. And I promise, if you let me help you -- no man will EVER hurt you again."
Phoebe tries to fight back her tears. "You can really help me?" she asks.
"Of course I can -- I wouldn't have brought you here if I couldn't help you."
"But -- but who are you?" Phoebe asks.
"My name is -- Lilith." the woman replies.