Love Hurts

Milton felt himself falling and woke with a jolt. He looked around himself at an unfamiliar appartment.

'Wyatt?' Milton looked up. It was Jenny. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it.

'What're you doing here?'

Milton looked at her, confused.

'Wyatt?'

'Why do you keep calling me that?' He asked the blonde woman stood over him.'I thought they killed you.' He muttered.

'Who?'

Milton stood up and wrapped his pyjamas round himself. He looked at Jenny without answering, 'where are we?'

For a moment, she looked crestfallen, 'home... my home.'

With a glance at the woman, Milton was shocked back into reality and his mind caught up with his body. 'You're Sophie,' he said.

She smiled regretfully, 'and you're Milton.'

Milton sat in P3 considering the bottom of a glass. A bottle of Jack Daniels sat on the counter. Chris appeared next to him.

'Y'know that still creeps me out.' Milton said, referring to the orbs of light Chris had formed out of. Chris grinned.

'I was trying to get away from you all but I had no idea where to go in this city to get a drink at seven in the morning... anyway, here I am.' Chris looked at the bottle of Jack Daniels and laughed.

'What?' Milton asked.

'Jack Daniels. Still your favourite drinking partner, huh.' Milton scowled.

'You know what I came to get away from?' He asked. Chris kept quiet. 'Wyatt.' Milton said. 'I came to get away from people searching for him. I mean, you own this place, how many people in one night order a Jack Daniels? It must be hundreds and yet you still manage to layer meaning on to the fact that I'm drinking it.' Chris looked taken aback. 'Look, I'm sorry,' Milton continued. 'I would really like to be Wyatt. I would. But do you really find him more in here, with me, than you did searching the Amazon?' Milton paused and picked up his glass. He looked at it. 'You want to know the real reason I was drinking Jack Daniels? It was because it was already out on the counter.'

Chris sat still for a moment, watching his brother. 'Wyatt... I've seen, we've all seen you in so many different... phases. I've seen you as a small child, a teenager and a grown man. I've seen you possessed, gone astray, as the evil villain and the hero willing to give everything for the greater good. And some things change. And some things don't. And you may be lost. And there may be some parts of you that are still out in the jungle or married to Guinevere but you'll come home. I know you will. You always do. Because you're my brother. You can't change that.'

Chris dissappeared just as he had arrived. His words, which at another time might prove so important, washed over Milton. They were lost amongst the worries of the morning after. Milton stared at the darkened bar. His brain tried to sift through the memories of the night before...

...Milton and Sophie sat opposite each other. Milton slugged a mug of coffee. Sophie stared at him curiously.

'I'm sorry. I have no idea how I got here.' Milton said, embarrassed.

'You orbed.' Sophie pushed a plate of biscuits towards him. Milton looked doubtful.

'You must have been dreaming... Don't worry, it's happenned before.' Sophie reassured him. 'The night before you left.'

Milton stared furiously into the coffee, 'that's kind of creepy.'

'For you or for me?' Sophie smiled.

'Both.' Milton pushed his hands through his hair, agitated. He felt like he owed an explanation. 'I keep having nightmares about you... or Jenny. I don't know. God, this is so screwed up.'

'Yeah, demons will do that to you.'

Milton took a biscuit cautiously, 'so, um, are you a... magical... a witch then?' He flushed red.

'If only they'd picked a word that wasn't in childrens' books, huh.' Sophie grinned. 'No, 'fraid not. Not a magical bone in me. But, what can I say? You charmed me.' Sophie smiled.

'Weren't you afraid?' Milton asked, watching her intently, 'didn't you worry about getting dragged into the underworld or something?'

Sophie paused, 'sure I was.' She said. 'I worried about having magical kids, demon attacks, losing my social life, lying to our friends and family. I worried about everything but in the end, being without you was harder.'

Milton laughed bitterly, 'God, fate really screwed you over, didn't it.'

'Everything happens for a reason.' Sophie looked at him confidently. 'You taught me that.'

Milton looked up as he heard a clatter. Piper wondered through the club from the office. She looked at him suprised, 'Wyatt, I didn't know you were here.'

Milton felt like he was a small child who'd just been caught out, 'yeah, sorry. I just... god, I'm sorry.'

'Hey, don't worry about it. We all need a time out.' She smiled. 'How about you pour me a glass of that too.'

'Sure.' Milton said, suprised. 'Listen, I wanted to ask you... when I orbed... to Jenny's place. How did I do that? I mean, why?'

Piper scratched her head, awkwardly. 'Well, y'know, our powers are attached to our emotions. We all have certain things - an emotional state - that will trigger them. You just have to learn to control it.'

'What's your trigger?' Milton used the wrong pronoun.

Piper sighed, 'I don't know. I don't think it's ever been the same twice.' She cocked her head. 'Motherhood, maybe... even before I was a mother, the maternal instinct. Christ, once Leo turned me into a goddess of creation, the ultimate mom... what're you thinking about?' Piper paused, watching him. 'Oh... I know,' she said softly. 'You're wondering what your trigger is.'

Milton looked up embarrassed. He jerked his head as if to deny it and then took to studying the Jack Daniels bottle.

'It's love.' Piper sighed. 'One of the things you inherited from your father.' Milton's heart sank. Piper had just confirmed his worst fears.

'Do I love Guinevere then?'

Milton stroked Sophie's cheek. 'I love you,' he whispered, shocking himself. He felt his heart tugging every time she looked at him. He felt his nerves tingling in his stomach and his palms sweating. He wanted to pull her towards him and never let go. He had all the symptoms of love. Nonetheless, the word still caught him by surprise.

Sophie looked down abashed and pulled herself towards him. She pushed her face into his shoulders. Milton had to concentrate to breathe. He felt his heart racing. Sophie began to unbutton her shirt.

'Are you sure?' Milton asked. Sophie ignored him, wrapping herself around his body.

Milton studied her face. He watched her mouth slacking and her eyelids fluttering. He felt a strange sense of both euphoria and dread.

'Wyatt.' She whispered. Milton hesitated. The name caught him off guard. 'Wyatt - my god, I love you. I love you so much.' Milton wanted to get out of the room. He wanted to be back in New Jersey. He looked towards the ceiling and finished. As he did, Sophie seemed to detach. She rolled away from him, avoiding his eyes. Milton stood up and got dressed. He swallowed, trying to think. He left the apartment through the door.