"Paige, come on -- let me in, please." Cole begs outside the door. Paige is still crying, and keeps looking at the door. After calming down a bit, she gets up, and goes over to the mirror to wipe her eyes. It is there that she notices the image of Lilith in the mirror. Paige screams. "Paige!" Cole shouts, and with force kicks the door in. He sees Paige staring into the mirror. Cole is unable to see Lilith's image, but he understands what is happening, and he grabs Paige's curling iron from the dresser and shatters the mirror with it. Once the mirror is completely shattered, Paige appears light-headed and starts to swoon a bit. Cole picks her up and carries her to the bed, laying her down gently and sitting down next to her. "It's okay now, honey -- I'm here, you're safe." Cole tells her, squeezing her hand.
"Cole, she -- Lilith --" Paige whispers.
"Shhhh. Just relax. She can't hurt you now." Cole tells her. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart -- I'm so sorry." he says, touching her cheek. Paige instinctively puts her hand on her belly, then gets a nervous look on her face.
"Cole -- something's wrong with Ben. He's not moving." Paige says.
"Honey, he doesn't move all the time." Cole says.
"No, this is different. Something's not right. LEO!" she cries out, and then starts crying. Leo orbs into the room.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Leo asks, sitting on the other side of Paige.
"Lilith -- Paige and I had a -- disagreement, and Lilith tried to take her." Cole tells him.
"And now something's wrong with the baby." Paige says. "Leo, please tell me he's okay." Leo puts his hands on Paige's belly.
"Paige he seems -- scared." Leo says. "I didn't know he was this sensitive. How long has he been like this?"
"For awhile now. The more he grows, the more I can feel him -- his thoughts, his emotions." Paige says.
"Just try talking to him -- calm him down." Leo says. "He needs to know that he's safe -- if he stays this upset you could go into premature labor."
"Hey Ben -- it's okay, that mean lady is gone now, she won't hurt you." Cole says as he bends over to Paige's stomach. "Daddy's here -- everything's okay now."
"Don't you be afraid, Ben -- we love you, and we'll protect you." Paige says while rubbing her belly.
"Ben? I didn't know you named him already." Leo says.
"Benjamin -- after my father." Cole says. "It was Paige's idea."
"Come on, honey -- you're safe, you don't need to be scared, Ben." Paige says, still rubbing her belly. Finally she feels a gentle kick. "There -- he's okay now." Paige says, crying. Cole hugs her tightly and kisses her on the cheek.
"It looks like he's doing better -- you should probably stay in bed for a few days and rest, though. Just to make sure. I'll come back a little later and check on you." Leo says. "I guess I need to tell Piper what's going on -- you get some rest now." Leo says, and he orbs out of the room. Paige looks up at Cole.
"I thought we were safe -- I've been wearing the amulets, I thought they would protect us." Paige says.
"They'll protect Ben. But if you invite Lilith in -- that's different. Paige, we can't fight anymore. You can't get angry with me, no matter how much of an insensitive ass I'm being." Cole says, and Paige laughs a bit. "If you're mad at me, just let it out -- kick me, smack me, scream at me, I don't care -- but don't hold it in and go off alone. That just leaves you vulnerable to Lilith."
"I guess I over-reacted a little bit, too. Too many hormones out of sync right now with me, I guess." Paige says.
"No -- you had a right to be angry. And I have no right to be jealous over what Phoebe does with her life. Even if that means she wants to date a smug, smarmy, supposedly reformed warlock." Cole says.
"Oh, I think he's nice." Paige says.
"You think he's HOT, that's what you think."
"And you're jealous of THAT? Cole, just because I'm married doesn't mean I can't look and -- admire attractive things. And besides, you are smoking hot, baby. I'd love to see YOU put on a pair of tight jeans and a ripped t-shirt and watch you do some sweaty manual labor." she teases, and Cole laughs.
"Yeah -- I really don't see that happening. How about I just do this instead?" Cole takes her in his arms and kisses her passionately.
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"So, do you guys come here often?" Phoebe asks Eli, as they sit down together on a bench in the park.
"Every day. Nick loves it here -- it was his mother's favorite place. He likes to feed the birds and the squirrels -- he can talk to them, you know?" Eli says. "He doesn't really have alot of friends -- it's hard for him." Nicholas comes running over to them.
"Dad, can I go play on the swingset?" he asks, jumping into Eli's lap.
"Sure, just be careful." Eli says. Nicholas looks at Phoebe.
"You're a witch too -- just like the other girl. My dad likes you. And you like him too. You're nice." he says to Phoebe, and then he leaves to go play.
"Well, he's -- an interesting one." Phoebe says.
"Yeah -- sorry about that. He's gotten to the age where he wants to share every thought he reads, and I can't quite get him to understand what things he should keep to himself. I don't have that gift -- it's hard for me to relate." Eli tells her. "Because of his mother's gift, and his warlock skills from me, his telepathy is his strongest skill. He can read the thoughts of any living thing. His mother knew how to help him manage it -- I'm doing my best, but I'm afraid I'm not handling things as well as she would have."
"Well -- maybe I can help. I mean, I'm not telepathic, but I do have some precognitive skills. So I can relate a little bit to what he's going through." Phoebe says.
"That would be very kind of you." Eli says. "My biggest fear is that -- he won't learn how to control his power. I don't want him to use his gift to control someone's mind. Right now he doesn't realize that he has that power. My hope is he never does."
"Are you sure you're a warlock?" Phoebe asks. Eli laughs.
"Unfortunately, yes I am. Both of my parents were very powerful warlocks. One day, I was sent to kill a witch, and she happened to be there -- Lauren, my wife. She was the witch's friend, and she begged me to stop -- her friend had two young children. She offered herself in exchange. I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. And at the time I didn't know why, but -- I couldn't go through with it. I had never experienced such a selfless act before. I just couldn't get her out of my mind. We became friends, and -- we fell in love. I gave up everything for her -- my family, my heritage, everything I'd ever known."
"And you don't ever feel like you want to kill a witch again?" Phoebe asks.
"No -- I don't want to kill anyone ever again. I don't use my powers at all. The only time I would ever consider using them would be to protect someone I love. And if I did that -- they'd have to destroy me. Because if I ever use my powers again I could be lured to evil, and I won't let that happen. I'd die first." Nicholas comes running over to them.
"Dad -- I found this family of rabbits hiding in a bush behind the swingsets! The mother is scared because she didn't plan to have her babies there and she can't get them back safely to her home where they'll be protected. Can we help them? She told me where her real home is, it's not far." Nicholas tells him.
"Sure -- you want to help us Phoebe?" Eli asks.
"Hey, who can resist helping a bunch of cute little bunnies? Let's go." Phoebe says, and Nicholas excitedly grabs Phoebe's hand and leads them to the rabbits.
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Late the next morning, Piper is in Paige's bedroom with Melinda, and Paige is holding her. "She just gets more beautiful every day." Paige says, smiling. "And I bet you can't wait until your little cousin gets here so you can have a playmate. Has she shown any of her powers yet?"
"Not yet -- which frankly, I don't mind one bit. It's hard enough to get five minutes of rest with a normal baby; if she starts orbing around the house or blowing things up I think I'll have to shoot myself." Piper jokes. "But apparantly, yours has started showing some powers from what Leo told me. He has your sensing gift. Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Piper, the last month of your pregnancy no one could even TALK to you! It's nice to actually have you back in your non-hormonal state." Paige says.
"Yeah -- sorry I was such a pain." Piper says.
"That's okay -- she was worth it." Paige says, and then she feels her belly. "Oh, there he goes, kicking again." Piper puts her hand on Paige's belly as well. "That's his happy kick. I know all of his kicks -- when he's happy, when he's tired, when he's mad -- that's why he scared me so much yesterday, because he wasn't reacting at all and that's not like him."
"Well, Leo said you'll be fine. I'm honestly surprised Cole's not over here hovering around."
"I told him to go to work; after yesterday, he's really not all that keen on getting me mad at him. He said he'll be back to make me lunch." Paige tells her.
"Hey guys -- what's going on?" Phoebe says, entering the room.
"We should ask you that, miss 'got home at two in the morning'." Piper says. "Where were you?"
"Out. With a friend." Phoebe says, sitting down on the other side of the bed next to Paige.
"Hmmm . . . . did that friend happen to be tall, dark and hunky and currently downstairs working on my office?" Paige asks.
"Maybe." Phoebe teases. "And Paige, I'm sorry about yesterday, if I had known what happened I'd have been here."
"It's okay -- I'm fine." Paige says.
"So who is this guy?" Piper asks.
"He's one of our clients. AND he's renovating our office." Paige says.
"His name is Eli, and he's SO sweet and so gorgeous -- and he has a son, Nicholas -- Piper, he is the most adorable little boy. We rescued a family of bunnies yesterday." Phoebe tells them.
"Bunnies?" Piper asks.
"Yeah, it's a long story but -- he can commincate with animals -- Nicholas, not Eli. He can read anyone's mind, actually. He's just an amazing kid." Phoebe says.
"You forgot to mention the fact that your new boyfriend is a warlock." Paige says.
"You are NOT dating a warlock!" Piper says.
"He's reformed -- his powers have been dormant for almost a decade now, he lives completely as a mortal." Phoebe says, and Piper sighs.
"What is WRONG with this family?" Piper says. "Are we all gluttons for punishment or something?"
"I guess so." Phoebe says. "Eli is such a wonderful guy -- we talked and talked last night, neither of us realized how late it was getting. He's taking me out to dinner this weekend."
"Excuse me -- Mrs. Turner, I'm sorry to disturb you." Eli says, peeking into the room. "Phoebe -- hi, I didn't know you were here."
"Come on in, it's okay." Paige says. "And call me Paige, please. This is my other sister Piper, and her little girl, Melinda."
"Hi -- nice to meet you." Piper says, shaking his hand.
"Your husband told me you had taken ill last night, I hope you're feeling better." Eli says to Paige.
"Oh, I'm fine -- I'm just under strict orders to stay in bed for the time being." Paige says.
"And that's why we're here -- to make sure she behaves herself." Phoebe replies.
"Well, I'm glad you're feeling better. I'm sorry to bother you, but it seems that there was a mix-up in the floor-board order. The material we received doesn't match what's on the work order, and I don't want us to install the wrong thing." Eli says.
"I was there when you did that order, I can go check it out." Phoebe says.
"That's fine -- thanks, Phebes." Paige says.
"I hope you're well soon -- and it was nice to meet you, Piper. And your daughter." Eli says, and he leaves, with Phoebe following behind. Both Piper and Paige watch intently as he exits.
"Did it suddenly get hot in here, or is it just me?" Piper asks.
"I am SO telling on you to Leo." Paige teases.
"Oh please, you were looking too. How could you not?" Piper asks.
"Looking at what?" Cole asks as he enters the room. He's carrying a vase of flowers and sets them on the nightstand, then sits down on the bed and wraps his arm around Paige. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, honey." Paige says.
"And how's my favorite little niece?" Cole says, smiling at Melinda and giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "She really is beautiful, Piper."
"Thanks. And I agree -- but I'm biased." Piper says.
"Ben just adores her -- he's been all happy ever since she got here." Paige says, a big smile on her face. "They're gonna be best friends, I just know it."
"Thanks for coming here and keeping her company -- I know how much Paige hates to be laid up like this, and obviously her other sister is too busy downstairs chatting up the hired help to be bothered." Cole says.
"Cole, you promised." Paige says, glaring at him.
"Sorry -- but I'm not paying him to stand around and flirt with your sister. Let him do that on his own time." Cole says.
"Actually, there was a problem with a work order -- I asked Phoebe to straighten it out. So you're getting all huffy over nothing -- as usual." Paige says.
"Well -- he still looked like he was flirting with her." Cole says. "I'm sorry, but I've never met a warlock I've liked, and I don't intend to start now." Paige just sighs, clearly irritated. "Alright, alright -- I'll stop." Cole says, giving her a kiss on the lips. "No getting mad at me -- I love you. Okay?"
"Well, we'd better get going, it's somebody's nap time." Piper says, taking Melinda from Paige's arms. "We'll be back later today -- I'll make dinner."
"Honey, you don't have to do that." Paige says.
"No, but I want to. Besides, I don't want you to have to eat nothing but Cole's cooking for the next few days." Piper says.
"Hey! I can cook just fine, thank you very much!" Cole says.
"No, you open boxes and cans and call for carry out just fine." Piper says in response. "I'll see you later tonight." Piper and Melinda leave.
"You like my cooking, don't you?" Cole asks.
"Um -- sure, honey. It's fine." Paige says unconvincingly. "You know, I'm worried about Piper. She was here all morning and never even mentioned Li--"
"Ah -- don't say her name, Paige." Cole says.
"Okay, okay -- but shouldn't Piper be concerned about Melinda? I mean, now that we know she's still lurking around." Paige says.
"Maybe she just doesn't want to worry you. I'm sure Leo is taking good care of them. And we just need to get through two more weeks, and then Melinda is safe. I talked to Leo this morning, he took all of the mirrors out of the house, so that should help keep her out." Cole says.
"I hope so." Paige says. "I know if anything happened to Ben I don't think I could handle it. I can't imagine what Piper would do if she lost that little girl."
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Nearly two weeks later, Phoebe and Piper are in the Halliwell Manor living room. Piper is putting Melinda in her cradle. "Thanks so much for getting this for us, Phebes -- it's just so much easier to have one downstairs as well as upstairs."
"You're welcome -- so, can we get started with that dinner now, I want everything to be just perfect for Eli and Nicholas, it's their first time coming over for a family dinner." Phoebe says.
"You really like this guy, don't you?" Piper asks.
"Yeah -- I do." Phoebe replies, as Piper finishes tucking Melinda in. "Is she asleep yet?"
"No, but she's good about going to sleep on her own." Piper says. "She'll be fine while we're in the kitchen. And she really likes the little mobile you bought her." Piper says, referring to the silver mobile with stars and moons on it that hangs over the cradle.
"I thought she would. So -- she hasn't shown any powers yet, huh?" Phoebe asks.
"Not yet -- I guess she'll be a late bloomer, like her mother." Piper replies. "Come on, let's get this dinner started, we want to impress Mr. Wonderful." Piper and Paige go into the kitchen. Melinda starts making cooing noises in her cradle, and she reaches out for the mobile -- suddenly the moons and stars all separate, and begin circling above her in the air as she laughs in amusement, controlling their movement by waving her hands. She then grabs ahold of the amulets that she is wearing, and is able to break them off with a single touch. She causes them to float in the air too, and after a few minutes all of the items fall to the floor, including the amulets, as Melinda giggles to herself. From the reflection in one of the mobile pieces, Lilith appears and approaches the cradle.
"Well, hello there darling. I've been waiting for you, my precious little girl." she says to Melinda, as she reaches into the cradle . . . . . . .