Chapter 3: Moving day for the Turners
Cole Turner was extremely proud of himself. In just a couple of weeks he managed to get his home and work place ready for use. All that was missing were his wife and kids. "Wife and kids", he still had a hard time believing it. He met her exactly seven years before in NY and they immediately connected. He even gained a father thanks to her. They were all family now.
He had to admit, if it wasn't for her, he'd still be on a different path, not exactly wrong for him then but not a life worth it either. Now he not only was married but he had kids too. Eight years before, if someone, even a seer had told him he'd have all this one day, he'd have told them they were crazy; that marital and family life specifically wasn't for him.
But here he was, preparing to go to the airport to pick up his two children and their aunt. They'd be the first to come while their mother was finalising everything in NY. Again, the airport thing was just for show and besides, the kids loved travelling by plane, just so they could say they flew higher than they'd be able to at the moment. They also loved travelling.
Except for his family, he also had his extended family to expect in the next week. They all would be working with him or his wife on several levels. He may be only starting his law firm but he wasn't new to this, far from it. Every one of them he met through work, by coincidence or thanks to his wife's gift. They all needed their help once and they decided that they wanted to be able to help others with the same kind of problems. Cole and his wife found it an excellent idea: there were so much things related to the supernatural world that needed to be dealt with without risking magical exposure. They decided they were going to be the ones doing it.
There was one major problem that almost always occurred when dealing with supernatural facts and that was the law. Here was something Cole was very good at: dealing with the law. They discovered that many people were bound to be fined or sent to prison because they couldn't or wouldn't explain themselves when magic was involved. And in these cases, the Elders or whitelighters never intervened and simply left their charges to fend for themselves. This is where they would step in: the wards and spells Cole put at his office building ensured that anyone needing help, supernatural or not would find their way to them: they would help with the law and magical problems. They were all trained and prepared for it.
The days following her introductions to handsome Cole Turner, Prudence Halliwell managed to learn that he was a lawyer and a very good one at that. He had been a very gifted and respected Assistant District Attorney in New York and created his own law firm as soon as he arrived in San Francisco. Apart from that, she didn't learn much else. She still took his possible children into consideration and didn't press the matter although the man seemed really busy and she couldn't go barging in his house late at night when he was home. But that didn't really matter: she would give him some time to settle in his new house before starting her seduction of the man.
One thing that disappointed her was the lack of information on his marital situation. For the life of her she couldn't find anything about it, even with her friend detective Darryl Morris' help. The latter informed her that he had been an ADA with a great reputation, sometimes acting as a lawyer in NY, defending people in specific and strange cases. So, he must have made his files classified for fear of retaliation. Her interest made Darryl suspicious about her intentions but she told him it was nothing important.
In the family car, a black SUV, Cole made his way home from the airport with his two kids in the backseats and their auntie Amy next to him in the passenger front seat. She was a young student taking correspondence course for her degree in law. The Turner family was grateful to have her with them because she was of great help to them, even when she didn't have to. She was also considered family and the kids adored her. Frankly, Cole didn't know what they'd have done if she wasn't there with them. She could be the perfect nanny too. Her correspondence classes allowed her to help them with the kids when they couldn't.
When Amy had started throwing energy balls from her hands, she had freaked out. She didn't know then what it was or what was happening to her. With her emotions all over the place, she had started throwing them everywhere in the street, but luckily for her, help had come in the form of a man and a woman and she was stopped. If they hadn't come to her help, she'd have exposed magic to the world. It was only their luck that because she was a runaway, the only person that had seen her were the homeless people there.
Cole and his wife had been exactly what she had needed then: they knew what to tell her and explain what was going on with her. She learned that she was a witch and had the power to throw energy balls. Of course, she had to be trained to control her power and to help her master it, they had taken her in. Being only fifteen at the time, they had to make things official: they took her out of the system, gave her a home and two people she could count on. In time, she came to trust them as if they were her big brother and sister. She was one of the first persons they had saved and they too came to care for her.
For the life of him Cole didn't understand why the Elders hadn't sent the young girl a whiteligher to help her in becoming a witch. Why go to all the trouble of unlocking her power if they were only going to let her fend for herself? He really didn't get it. And she was so young, too young to become a witch considering she was orphaned. Well, he supposed her case was the same as his wife's: she must have received quite a shock at some point in her life for the power to kick in when she had needed it. They learned some time later that her foster father had been about to hurt her when it started, so that explained it. For his wife, it was when she learned that he was a demon and that magic existed.
Cole's wife particularly had a soft spot for the girl because she reminded her of herself at that age. She wanted to give her the chance that no one had wanted to give her. If it wasn't for Cole, she didn't know where she'd be so she gave the teenager the same chance she was given. Amy was all grown up now but wherever they went, she was with them. She had been family from the beginning. And here they were, on the way to their new house and their new life.
"Are we there yet daddy?" His son's repeated question once again threw Cole out of his musings.
"No yet Benny but it won't be long, just a few minutes." He told the four-year-old.
"Ok daddy" Benny answered and immediately went back to singing with his nanny and little sister.
Cole was sometimes surprised at how fast his little boy could go from a conversation or an occupation. At times, his attention could have a very short lifespan. But that didn't mean he was inattentive. On the contrary, he was very observant for his age and a very smart boy too. He got his father's calm and cool demeanour. That alone was proof of his intelligence.
While Ben used his observant nature to get his own vision of things, his little sister was their mother's carbon copy. She was the one that got everything with her little mouth and cute voice. That one was a talker: when she had a question, she wouldn't let go of it until she got a satisfactory answer. She could get everything she wanted with simple questions and her favourite one was "why". Most of the time her big brother was the one to explain things to her, being the one that understood her the most. They had a bond that no one else could break and for that they were grateful.
Cole finally pulled up the driveway of their new house. He was relieved because he wasn't sure how much longer he could have bear with the constant singing. He loved his kids and loved playing with them but that was too much. Even so, he was glad to see how happy they were to be moving to a new house in a new town. Those two were as adventurous as their two parents and they were never afraid of going to an unknown place. They always liked it when they were about to discover something new.
He parked the car and declared: "Here we are. Everybody out!" He prepared himself for the cry that was coming and wasn't disappointed. The two bundle of energy cried out and they would have shot out of the car if it wasn't for the seatbelt that were keeping them in place. Of course, they could have gotten out of them without any trouble but they knew the rules when in a car: except for an emergency, only an adult was authorized to unbuckle them, so they had to wait for it.
Once they were given the ok, the two little Turners ran to the house to see what it looked like from the inside. The three travellers had made the trip to SF with only a bag each, seeing as Cole already had everything moved in. Taking them with him in one go, he didn't want to waste time outside so he called over his shoulder.
"Come on Amy. We better go after the little monsters before they break down the house!"
Amy laughed a little before answering. "We can't have that. The house is shining as if it was new." She heard Cole's chuckle from in front of her. "What? It's true. They have to wait until we've been here for at least a month before they start breaking things, even if you can repair them with a wave of your hand. You know they are expert at breaking things but rubbish at repairing them. They haven't mastered that power yet! And you'd think they'd just banish them and conjure new ones."
Cole laughed aloud before reassuring her. "Give them some time. They're still too young to think things like that. But don't worry Amy we found the perfect solution for them to spend their energy somewhere else than in the house. It's a surprise for the three of you." With that, he left a perplexed Amy standing in entrance of the house.
The two adults found the kids touring their new home with looks of awe on their faces. They went from room to room and all that could be heard from them were "wow" and "it's big."
Hearing his children's cries of delight at the discovery of the house made Cole very proud of himself. It was true that the house was big and they'd just seen the first floor. For now they had been to the hallway, the very spacious and welcoming living room, the sun room and the dining room where they could always have meals with their extended family.
Then there was the big and modern kitchen: Cole was only waiting for his wife's arrival to see what her reaction would be. She had seen every other room since they had designed and decorated them but this one was of his own work alone. When the two of them met she could never cook anything; he would always ban her from the kitchen and cook food himself. All of that changed the moment she learned she was pregnant with her firstborn. She told Cole there was no way she was going to become a mother without knowing how to cook otherwise, what would she give the baby to eat? She took lessons from the best and was now a chef of her own. The extra modern kitchen was a gift to her for her efforts all those years back. And to think she hated cooking then!
The first floor also had an office for parents, a guest bedroom, and a bathroom. Finally, to the children's delight, there was the playroom. It would be their haven in the house, aside from their bedrooms. Those were the rooms they were going to inspect next. Seeing them making their way to the upstairs of the house, Cole thought it better if he went with them.
Arriving upstairs, Cole introduced everyone to their bedrooms. Once again, he got the same reactions from the kids. They were running around their rooms, inspecting everything and seeing how much bigger they were from the ones they had in NY.
He went to Ben's first and stood in the doorway. "How do you like it buddy?"
Ben stopped his inspection for a second to answer to his father. "I love it daddy! Thank you."
Cole hugged his son back and kissed his head. "You're welcome buddy. Come on; let's go see how your sister likes her new room."
They found her already sitting at her little table with a coloring book, hard at work. Cole knelt in front of her and kissed her head too. "Hey princess, what are you doing?"
"Cowowing my book daddy." The little girl answered without even lifting her head. It was the one she had started in the plane.
"It's really great, princess. Come with me you two, I have another surprise for you." He took little Vicky in his arms and made his way downstairs with Ben trailing after him.
Father and children went to a new door that the kids hadn't really paid attention to: it was a sliding door made of glass. Cole slid it to the side and went out. Ben's and Vicky's mouths were hanging open: in front of them was a big garden with one side made only for them. Their silence and impassivity didn't last long. Cole had barely set Vicky down that she was running to the playing area with her brother. They had the impression that they were at the park: sandbox, swings, monkey bars... everything was there for them to occupy themselves.
Cole simply stood where he was watching them. He wished his wife could be there with him to see it too. Converting part of the garden this way was her idea. Their penthouse in NY was bigger than average but it was nothing compared to this house. It gave the two kids ample space to be able to express themselves. Unbeknown to him, Sara had already started filming every moment with her camera that she had bought specifically for moments like this when one or both parents weren't there.
When Prue arrived home that day, she found her two sisters in the sunroom looking out by the window. She made her way to them to see what was keeping their attention. From there, she saw none other than Cole Turner in the garden of his house and he wasn't alone.
"Is that who I think it is?" She asked them.
"Yep. That's his kids apparently." Paige said.
"Ooh, aren't they adorable?" Prue cooed.
"Yeah, they are." Piper admitted. "And they look happy too. To me, they don't act like kids from divorced parents."
"Don't start with that Piper. I'm telling you, they must be separated at the very least. You don't see their mother there, do you?"
"Well, there's that woman there, with her camera?" Paige spoke up.
"No, did you look at her? She's too young for that kind of man; he's mature, smart... No, she must be the nanny."
"Come on Prue, you can't be sure of anything. Those kids are happy and apparently they're making a film for their mother." Piper said in turn.
Surprised, Prue asked. "How do you know that?"
"Well, we can hear their cries, even from here. From time to time they wave to the camera calling out mommy." Piper saw in her sister's eyes that she was starting to doubt her own theory, so she continued. "I know he seems to be the kind of man you'd want to be with, and I'm sure he's every woman's dream man. But Prue be careful. At least wait a few weeks to see how things go with him and his family."
Prue sighed in defeat. "You're probably right Piper. I should wait a little bit."
"You know you're my big sister and all I want is to protect you too. It goes both ways you know?" Piper said again, hugging her sister.
"Yeah, I know." Prue hugged her back.
Pige, not wanting to be left out, said. "Hey, me too," before she too joined the hug.
Over her sisters' heads, Prue took a last glance at the family still playing in the garden.
"You know, I understand why you're so attracted to him." Paige's voice made Prue and Piper look up at her in surprise. "What? Look at that body!" She gave an appreciative at Cole's form. "He's not even trying and he looks great! I'm telling you, once you've made sure that the wife is not in the picture anymore, go for it!" She said again with a nod at her own decision.
Prue laughed at her sister's decisive expression.
If only she knew. Paige saw here a way to get in her sisters' good side. She was the baby sister and being the new one of the family, she had to prove herself with Prue and Piper. Paige considered that she had to find her own place fill Phoebe's. She found it rather simple if anything Prue told her about their other sister was true. Apparently, Phoebe was not only the black sheep of the family but also the trouble maker. She constantly defied authority, especially if it was Grams or Prue; she rarely went to school and the trouble she caused with the men she went out with! Paige couldn't imagine someone behaving that way when she had wonderful sisters and a grandmother as loving as Grams.
Paige herself hadn't had the same chances in life as Phoebe. Sure she had been adopted by wonderful parents you couldn't forget that she had been abandoned by her biological parents. If that wasn't enough, she lost the ones that had raised her while she was still a teenager. The tragic event made her open her eyes and she had no other choice than to decide that it was time to take matters into her own hands and grow up.
Now Paige had two sisters who gave her another chance at life and a great destiny ahead of her that she couldn't wait to accomplish. So, Paige decided that she was going to help her sister by looking up some information about her new love interest. Cole Turner couldn't be that secretive could he? If their friend in the police couldn't find anything in their files, there were other ways of finding out information about someone. She'd give it a few days for it.
Thank you for those who have read my story so far.
It's my first time and I had thought of this scenario for so long now, it couldn't wait.
In the next chapter: the last Turner arrives in town.