Cole sped through the streets of San Francisco. He turned into the Manor's driveway so fast that the tires smoked. As soon as the car was stationary he jumped out and jogged across the lawn, bursting through the front door.
"Paige?" he called as he tried to catch his breath. Looking around he realised the living room was empty. "Phoebe! Piper! Leo!" He leapt up the stairs two at a time.
"Baby, what's the matter? Oh my God, you're hurt!" Phoebe had met him at the top of the stairs.
"I'm fine," Cole assured Phoebe, as she tenderly touched his face which was covered in scratches. Suddenly it dawned on Phoebe that Cole was alone.
"Cole, where's Paige?" her voice trembled as she asked. Cole's eyes narrowed in anger.
"She's not here? She was supposed to orb straight home!"
He grabbed Phoebe by the hand and pulled her towards Piper and Leo's room.
"You two haven't seen or heard from Paige, have you?" he asked as they entered the room without knocking. Piper and Leo shook their heads, looking worried.
"Isn't she with you?" Piper asked in a concerned tone. It was Cole's turn to shake his head. He explained quickly about the demon attack while the three worried faces listened intently.
"You let her orb solo?" Leo asked Cole in a sharp tone. "What if she orbed right into danger? You know she's not in control of her powers yet."
"Oh, so you would have preferred she drive home with me, like a sitting duck making its way through San Francisco?" Cole retorted. "Her orbing is a fear response and I promise you, she was sufficiently scared. She wouldn't have had any problems orbing back here." Cole took a step towards Leo and drew in a breath, making himself look as tall and menacing as possible.
"Then where is she?" Piper interjected, moving to stand between Cole and Leo. The tension between the two was threatening to explode. Piper glared at them both and they knew better than to upset her.
"I don't know. Leo, can you sense her?" Cole asked, backing down slightly.
"No," Leo began gravely, "so either she's not in any trouble or she's somewhere I can't sense her, like the Underworld."
"Or she's dead," whispered Phoebe, admitting what nobody wanted to believe. Cole pulled her in close and kissed the top of her head.
"We'll find her," he told her firmly.
There was a crash downstairs, and all four of them ran out of the room to see what was going on.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs was Paige, who had caused the noise by orbing in on top of a lamp. Cole was fuming but it was Piper who lost her temper first.
"Where the hell have you been?" yelled Piper, flying down the stairs towards Paige. "You get attacked by a demon and just disappear? We've been worried sick!" Paige opened her mouth to reply, but Piper didn't give her the chance.
"You know what this family has been through! You know how much we've lost. You may not know what it feels like to lose a sister, but I do. And I can't handle that happening again. I just can't." Her voice cracked with anger and emotion.
"Piper, come on, she must have been scared. Comforting big sister now, angry and protective one later, okay?" Phoebe turned to Paige. "Tell us what happened. Where'd you go when you left Cole?" Instead of answering Phoebe's question, Paige moved closer to Piper and looked her in the eyes.
"I lost a sister too. One I never even got the chance to know. Don't you dare tell me I'm not hurting from losing Prue. I lost the chance to have an amazing big sister. And instead, I got stuck with you. I lost everything."
Piper was taken aback by Paige's harsh words. Tears sprung to her eyes and for once, she was at a loss for words. Paige then went on to answer Phoebe's question.
"I went to see Darryl. He has a case he could use our help on. It just felt sort of safer there." She thought it was best not to mention why she felt so unsafe at the Manor; not when the reason was standing right next to her.
"Okay, but one thing at a time please. Let's figure out who's trying to kill us first before we help Darryl track down any other murderers." Phoebe said with a laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn't work.
"Phoebe's right," Cole said. "Silly little stunts like this will get you killed, Paige." He practically spat the words at her, causing her to orb on the spot in fright. He angrily shimmered from the room.
"I'm going to go consult with the Elders," said Leo. He orbed out in a haze of blue lights.
"I think Cole is working with the demons," Paige blurted out once she and her sisters were alone. She hadn't meant to say it; she'd planned on keeping it to herself until she had proof. But the events of the night had shaken her badly and she just had to tell someone.
"Paige, we talked about Cole. He's not evil – not anymore, anyway." Piper said with a stern voice.
"Wait a minute, you've been talking about my boyfriend behind my back? I can't believe you. I don't expect you to trust him, but you can trust me! He's a good man. He's put his life on the line for you, Paige. All this demon involvement – what if somebody discovers who he is? He's supposed to be in hiding!" Phoebe was starting to become angry for the first time that night.
"I'm sorry Phoebe, but something about him just gives me the creeps. And he has been acting really suspicious lately. H disappeared that day we went to the movies and returned with news from the Underworld, the place he is apparently hiding from, and toni-"
Phoebe interrupted her. "I don't want to hear anymore, Paige. Cole does not have to answer to you for every little thing he does, and I certainly won't listen to you talk about him while he's not here to defend himself. I'm going to bed. Goodnight." She turned on her heels and stomped up the stairs. A few seconds later there was the sound of a door slamming.
"Now that I've made my entire family mad at me, I'm going to bed too," Paige sighed. Piper was about to go after her as she stomped up the stairs when Leo returned.
"That was fast," Piper noted. Usually his visits with the Elders took him away for hours at a time. Leo shrugged it off. Secretly, he'd only orbed as far as the front yard, taken a walk around the block a few times and orbed back. He'd sensed that the sisters needed time alone to sort things out, but since Piper was now standing alone, he realised he might have just made things worse. The Power of Three was about as vulnerable as it could be before breaking apart completely. And if there was ever a time the Charmed Ones needed it, it was now.