Hello, my splendiferous, marvelous readers. I hope you all are having a very pleasant week, because your reviews and the sheer number of hits to this story have made me pretty much giddy!
I have very exciting news; this chapter was typed entirely on my beautiful new baby MacBook, which will, hopefully, mean more frequent updates now that I don't have to compete for typing time on the family computer.
Now shout outs to all my lovely reviewers:
Cherrylilly: Thanks so much! I'm really glad you liked the last scene. I promise that while Phoebe and Cole do not meet in this scene, the will be reunited very, very soon. :-)
mallratrebel: Thanks for the review; you're awesome!
lizardmomma: Thanks! I had trouble figuring the right transition out, so I'm glad you noticed and liked it :-)
ethereal girl: Warren will have a very nice dinner with his family. He will be showing off some of his powers soon, too. Thanks for the review:-)
charmedgrl4ever: thanks for the review! I'll write a longer PM soon, I promise:-)
Elena Marshal: I'm sorry! I know I've been a horrible person story-posting wise, and I will do my best to make it up to you in future scenes. Hope you enjoy this one, and thanks for the review!
LostWitch5: Thanks so much! I hope you like it:-)
coleen turner: Thanks:-) Here's the update.
mandymoore1: Thanks for being such a faithful reader!
AnimeAlexis: Thanks again!
lord kray: Who was Mae talking too...you'll find out! Eventually. :-) Thanks for the review! I love your method of spelling, btw.
Neb92: Don't worry, I completely understand being lazy. Thanks so much for the review and, and look forward to a bunch of Cole in this scene:-)
Loved
Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed. Please don't sue.
Loved
(Manor, the kitchen. Piper is working furiously at the stove. She carries some dishes to the sink and looks out the window. In the backyard, the family is playing an informal game of baseball. Warren's at bat; Leo throws the ball. Warren hits it, and starts to run. Wyatt picks up the ball and throws it to Phoebe, who's guarding first base. She catches the ball right before Warren's foot touches the Frisbee marking the base. Phoebe scoops the little boy into her arms and spins him around, saying "I got you! I got you!" while Warren shrieks in delight. Camera back to Piper, who smiles and turns back to the stove, right as Coop hearts in.)
Piper: Hey, you're late, Coop. It's already five-thirty.
Coop: I know, sorry... (Looks out the window) Who's Phoebe's spinning around?
Piper: That's your new stepson, Philip Warren.
Coop: What?
Piper: (stirs a pot on the stove) Billie's helping his father fight a demon, so she dropped him off here. (Bitterly) Without asking. The next thing you know, your daughter announces that Philip doesn't have a mother, and that she wants to share, and then Philip asked Phoebe to be his pretend mommy. Of course Phoebe said yes. (She stops stirring, removes a huge tray of cookies from the oven) It was very moving. (looks sheepishly at the cookies) Hence the overload on baked goods.
Coop: (beaming) My little Melinda offered to share her mom with him?
Piper: I would say it was more of a politely worded demand that Phoebe adopt him, but yes.
Coop: (proud) That's my girl!
Piper: (wipes her hands on a towel) She's a sweetie. (She crosses to the back door, opens it) Okay everybody! Dinner time!
Coop: (thinking) Hold on, you said that his last name was Warren...is that Warren as in the Warren Witches?
Piper: That's what we're thinking. We'll find out for sure when Billie picks him up.
(Wyatt, Chris, Grace and the twins burst through the door, followed by Leo and Henry and Paige)
Leo: Okay, everybody go wash their hands for dinner!
Henry: And use soap! There will be inspections! (To Piper) Where's Jr.?
Piper: In his playpen in the conservatory.
Henry: Thanks. Hey Coop.
Coop: Hey.
(Henry and Paige exit. Piper and Leo pick up various food items and carry them into the dining room. Melinda scampers in, followed by Phoebe, who still has Warren in her arms.)
Melinda: (delighted) Daddy!
Coop: (warmly) There's my little princess! (He sweeps her up)
Phoebe: Hi honey.
Coop: Hey baby.
(They kiss. Warren wrinkles his nose in disgust)
Warren: Ewww!
Coop: (laughs) Eww? Why eww?
Warren: You kissed a girl! Don't you knows that gives you cooties?
Coop: (amused) I see...thanks for the warning.
Phoebe: Coop, honey, this is Philip Warren. He's-
Coop: I know, Piper told me all about it.
Melinda: Philip, this is my daddy. His name is Cupid, but you can call him Coop 'cause that's what everybody calls him, excepts me, I call him Daddy because he's my daddy. (She hugs Coop) He's the bestest daddy ever!
Warren: Hey, my daddy is the bestest daddy ever!
Melinda: Is not!
Warren: Is too!
Phoebe: Okay! Let's nip this argument in the bud.
Coop: Melinda sweetie, everybody thinks that they have the best daddy in the world, and it's true. I'm the best daddy for you, and Philip's daddy is the best daddy for him.
Warren: So all daddies is the same bestest, only different?
Coop: Exactly.
Melinda: Okay. Philip?
Warren: (after a moment) Okay.
Coop: (holds up a hand) Is everything cool then, buddy?
Warren: (nods) Yeah.
(He gives Coop a high five. An strange expression crosses Coop's face, then passes)
Phoebe: (sets Warren down on the floor) All right, you two go wash your hands for dinner.
(Coop sets Melinda down. She grabs Warren's hand and pulls him from the kitchen)
Melinda: C'mon Philip! I'll shows you where the bathroom is.
(They exit. Piper's voice is heard from the dining room)
Piper: Coop, Phoebe, I need you guys to grab some more place settings.
Phoebe: Sure thing!
(She and Coop move towards the cabinet)
Phoebe: (gushing) Isn't he adorable?
Coop: He's pretty cute. He's one lucky kid, I can tell you that.
Phoebe: (picking up plates) What do you mean?
Coop: (selecting silverware) It's quite incredible, actually. He is treasured.
Phoebe: Did you have a Cupid feeling or something?
Coop: (nods) When he gave me a high five. Every fiber of that boy's being is wrapped up in the protection of love. He's been saved by it.
Phoebe: How can you tell?
Coop: It's the same kind of love that I feel between you and your sisters, who've saved each other so many times. It's the same love that exists between Paige and Henry, after their love sparked her ability to heal. The same for Piper and Leo, their fight for each other and to save their sons, to protect their daughter's future.
Phoebe: And us?
Coop (smiles, reaches out and takes her hand) Us? We're lucky; we've not had that kind of adversity. (Tenderly) Our love is more like...like freshly fallen snow, sparkling, pure, and undisturbed by the rest of the world.
Phoebe: My husband the poet.
(They lean towards each other for a kiss, when Piper's voice interrupts them.)
Piper: It is now twenty till six, and I still don't have my extra place settings. Let's move it along, people!
(Phoebe and Coop grin and exit to the dining room.)
(A damp, dark cave, lit only by a few rough torches. The demon that tried to kill Cole sails through the air and crashes with a loud crunch into the wall of the cave. He lies on the ground, groaning in pain, when Cole strolls up to him)
Cole: (checks watch) You know what time it is? Twenty till nine. I have to pick my son up from daycare by nine; even though I pay an exorbant amount of money for them to watch him, they still get ticked if I pick him up any later. (He kicks the demon, who curls into a fetal position) Of course, I don't like having to leave him there that late. (He grabs the demon's collar, hoists him off the ground) But beings like you make that just about impossible. (The throws the demon to the ground again)
Demon: (In agony) Traitor...you're a demon as well...yet you persecute us...
Cole: Because you and your kind come after me and my son. And I used to be a demon. Past tense—No, you're right. (He kicks the demon again.) Partly, anyway. I do have all these useful demonic powers. (He conjures a very large, very nasty looking fireball in one hand, an energy ball in the other, and his eyes glow red) But that's beside the point. Now. Why did you try to kill me earlier?
Demon: (spits) I was following orders.
Cole: Whose orders?
Demon: (hisses) You'll never get the answer from me.
(Cole releases the energy ball, destroying the demon's leg)
Demon :( howling in pain) AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! Fine, fine, I'll tell you! It was—NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(The demon explodes in a fiery blast that knocks Cole off of his feet.)
Cole: Dammit! (Gets up, brushes off clothes, addresses the air around him in a low, menacing voice) I'll find you.
(Eyes flashing, he shimmers out)
Thanks for reading and please R&R:-)