Disclaimer: I don’t own any Charmed characters. Just the story’s plot although technically it really belongs to Spelling Entertainment as well.

[This takes place after Fifth Halliwheel. It’s the way I wished things could have been done. A list of songs and their performers will be at the end of the story.]

Rated PG-13 for violence and things as such.

The music was loud and obnoxious. It was the way Paige liked it. She sat at the kitchen table alone, again. It had been three days since she had been with Phoebe and Piper at P3 and had confessed to Phoebe that she didn’t trust Cole. She had not seen Phoebe since that night. She thought Piper would forgive her more easily, but Piper had been cold to her and that hurt worse than anything. Phoebe was her pal, but Piper had become her big sister. She didn’t want to disappoint either of them, but especially not Piper

The music was louder and more obnoxious as Paige turned the volume up on her Discman. The sounds of Linkin Park’s Papercut screamed out at her, the words deepening her thoughts.

It's like I'm paranoid lookin' over my back
It's like a whirlwind inside of my head
It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within
It's like the face inside is right beneath my skin

Paige thought about the tiny voice in her head. She knew it was her intuition telling her she was right about Cole. She couldn’t trust him and she didn’t know why. She was confused by the events that had taken place after she had been hit by the power broker. She wasn’t supposed to remember anything, according to Leo, however, as she had slept the past three nights, images had flooded her mind.

His eyes were the worst in her dreams. They blinked from normal to black to fire and to normal again. She shivered as she turned her attention to the newspaper that was on the table. Not wanting to be inundated with the headlines, Paige watched the clock on the wall. She sighed as she noted the early morning time: 6am. She had set her alarm early in hopes of seeing Phoebe and Piper. She wanted to apologize to them, even if she believed she had nothing to apologize for.

Paige had looked into Phoebe’s room before heading to the bathroom for her first hot shower in a long time. She knew when she saw Phoebe’s empty bed that she had stayed with Cole again. Paige had passed Piper in the hall as Piper was heading for the bathroom and as Paige was going to her room to get dressed. Piper didn’t smile. She didn’t make eye contact. Paige’s heart ached as she thought about the way Piper had been acting. The more she thought about it, the more painful it became.

“I didn’t even do anything wrong.” She thought aloud as she pulled her headphones off of her ears and slammed the Discman down on the table before running from the house forgetting her backpack on the table and leaving the door ajar. Paige no longer felt the urge to apologize to her sisters. She only wanted them to know the truth about Cole…whatever the truth was.

***********************************************

The darkness was a comfort as he slid silently through the rocky corridors of the underworld. He felt as though he were finally home. Cole sat on the rock throne of his new chambers and waited patiently for the Seer to return her attention to him and away from her vision. He closed his eyes and smiled, remembering the way he had made his sister-in-law shiver in fear. He felt hate rise within him. He hated Paige Matthews. He opened his eyes again and realized that the Seer was watching him.
“You worry about the effect the youngest will have on your wife?”

“Not really. Phoebe will never believe Paige without proof, visual proof. Even with proof, there’s a possibility Phoebe could end up hating her, forever.”

“What’s this?” the Seer’s face did not reveal the curiosity that was more than evident in her voice.

Cole sneered and let out the smallest laugh.

“I intend to finish the job that he stopped when the Power Broker infected Paige.”

“Do you think Cole will let you kill her?”

“I’m not going to kill Paige, but I am going to be damn sure Phoebe and Piper never believe her again, then when the precious Charmed Ones fall to pieces over the betrayal of their little sister…Phoebe will run to me. It is then that I shall reveal myself.”

“How do you plan to turn them away from their youngest?”

“It has already begun. Paige is doing a fine job of turning them away all on her own. However, I am giving her visions, making her see me in her dreams. Making her want to find me, to expose me to them.”

“You’re trying to do what we’ve been trying to prevent? I don’t understand, your greatness, what exactly is your plan?”

“I will make Phoebe dislike Paige’s distrust for me and then my plan is to make Paige love a man that is forbidden, and to make Phoebe and Piper see it. The only thing women can’t handle more than violence and hate, is jealousy. They will be so angry of Paige’s love for this man, they will disown her.”

“Who is this man?”

“Ahhh…you do hate surprises don’t you? And you with your visions of the future…”

The Seer bowed slightly and without smiling or speaking begged the Source to tell her more. Cole moved gracefully from his throne to the entrance of the chambers. There he began a slow pace. It resembled that of a lecturing professor.

“I will begin with Piper. She will be the hardest to turn. Phoebe’s love for Piper is strong enough to make her hate her younger sister if Piper wants her to. But Piper…she is too much like Prue. She will provide Paige with as much benefit of doubt as anyone could.”

“What man will Paige love?”

“Leo. I will make Piper believe that Paige is in love with Leo, and I will make Piper and Phoebe see that Leo and Paige have been together before.”

“Interesting, Master. You will dismantle the Charmed Ones by creating jealousy and paranoia? Very interesting.”

“Yes it is. And now I must go and plant my first piece of evidence. Two simple, simple matchbooks. It’s almost too easy,” he smirked as he flamed out of the chamber.

Cole reappeared in the laundry room in the basement of the manor. He knew Piper always washed hers and Leo’s laundry in the mornings. Evil’s best friend was an innocent person’s routine.

He quickly located a pair of Leo’s jeans waiting to go into the next load. He slipped a motel matchbook into a back pocket and then crept quietly up the stairs. He looked around cautiously when he reached the top step and listened carefully before creeping into the kitchen. He hoped that he could at least find something that belonged to Paige.

He heard music coming from the headphones on the table. He creased his forehead as he lifted the headphones and listened momentarily to the music. He shook his head and laid it back on the table still blaring the annoying sounds. He quickly noticed that the brown backpack on the table was the one that he had seen Paige with before.

He couldn’t believe his luck as he gently laid the matchbook just barely inside the front pocket, where anyone walking by could see the matchbook. He smiled, proud of his actions, and then flamed out as he heard footsteps on the stairs.

*******************************

Piper yawned as she quietly walked down the stairs of the manor. Morning was still her favorite time because it was normally quiet. She could do her chores and relax before taking a noon nap and heading to the club. She was frightened momentarily as she noticed that Paige’s backpack and Discman, still turned on, were lying on the table. She worried about the slightly opened back door but dismissed it as she shut it realizing that Paige’s car was gone and assuming that she had gone to work in a hurry.

Piper shook her head in frustration as she looked at Paige’s mess on the kitchen table. She was tired of cleaning up after her youngest sister. She reminded Piper too much of Phoebe, when she was at a rebellious age. Piper picked up Paige’s backpack to put it in the corner and away from the table. As she moved it, the matchbook fell from its precarious position in the pocket and fell with a click to the floor. Piper sighed and looked down. She picked up the little red matchbook and read the name of the motel on the cover.

She snickered as she read, “Ya-Ya’s Sleepaway?”

Piper rolled her eyes and couldn’t help but laugh loudly.

“I can’t believe Paige would shack up at a place called Ya-Ya’s. I at least thought she had some class, even if she can be judgmental,” Piper admonished, speaking to herself out loud. “I wonder what freak she’s hooking up with.”

She gave the matchbook more thought as she went about her day. After sweeping, dusting, and straightening the house, she finally got to the pile of jeans in the laundry room she needed to wash. Before too long, she picked up the same pair in which Cole had placed the matchbook. As Piper fished through the front pockets she withdrew change and a few dollar bills.

When she pulled her hand out of the back pocket of the faded blue jeans, she gasped in disbelief. Her hand shook as she read the name on the matchbook cover. Ya-Ya’s Sleepaway.

“There’s no way…” she whispered as she held the matchbook tightly in her hand. She sat down at the kitchen table, shivering from the unknown. Somehow her hand managed to find the phone and dial a number. Her entire body felt numb as she pressed the receiver to her ear. When the voice on the other end of the line answered. Piper’s voice was soft, and unsure.

“I need to talk to you.”

Phoebe paced irately between the backdoor and the chair that Piper still occupied in the kitchen. She knew Piper was giving Leo and Paige the benefit of the doubt. In her own mind she found the idea of her younger sister and Leo having an affair completely preposterous. But, somewhere within she felt doubt and anger.

“Piper? Do you think that they would…? Well…you know. Do you think they would do that to you?”

Piper hesitated with an answer as she searched for how she truly felt in her heart.

“I don’t know Phoebe. I know Leo heart and soul and I know he wouldn’t do this to me. Not without some sort of coercion.”

Her voice was shaky, and unmeasured.

“Piper…you’re saying that you think Paige could coerce Leo into having an affair?”

Phoebe’s own heart sank at the spoken words. She watched, as Piper grew a shade paler. Phoebe dropped to her knees in front of Piper. She looked up into her older sister’s eyes and she could read the confusion.

Piper shook her head, “No, Phoebe, that’s not what I’m saying. It’s just…if something happened between them, then there’s probably some outside magic involved, right? I mean Leo definitely wouldn’t do this to me, to this family. And Paige, I mean we’ve only known her for 6 months, but she’s done everything she can to please us and show us how much she wants to be with us. She wouldn’t hurt us intentionally.”

“So what do we do? Do we ask Leo and Paige about it?”

Piper nodded, “Yes we ask them about it but we ask them at the same time. Honest reactions make for honest conversations. We’ll know if they’re lying.”

“What time will Paige be home?” Phoebe asked glancing at her watch.

Piper thought about earlier that morning when she found the open door and still-playing Discman.

“Something is very not right here, Phoebe.”

“Geez, you think? There’s possible evidence that our sister is having an affair with your husband, of course there’s something not right.”

“No, not about that, Phoebe. This morning when I came downstairs, the back door was open. Paige’s CD player was still on and her backpack was still here. She’s usually a little more together than that isn’t she?”

Phoebe thought about it for a moment. She realized she had been letting her anger about Paige’s distrust for Cole cloud her present judgment. She cleared her mind and thought about Paige.

“You’re right. She usually is a little more together than that.”

Piper drummed her fingers on the table, “I think we should call her at work. Tell her there’s a family emergency of the demon variety and when she gets here we’ll call Leo. We’ll go ahead and confront the situation.”

Phoebe picked up the cordless phone and dialed Paige’s work number. Before too long Paige’s voice answered.

“South Bay Social Services. Paige Hal…Matthews speaking.”

Phoebe flinched at the mid-sentence name change. Her heart was torn between husband and sister. She spoke after another “hello” from Paige.

“Paige, it’s Phoebe.”

*************************************

Paige’s breath became shallow as Phoebe’s voice resounded through her ears. She hadn’t heard her voice in three days. She had missed it.

“Phoebe? I missed…”

Paige was going to tell Phoebe that she had missed her when Phoebe abruptly cut her off.

“Paige…no time to chat. Come to the manor, there’s an emergency of sorts.”

“Is everyone okay?”

“Not so much. Just come home. We’ll talk then.”

After hanging up, Paige quickly reached for her backpack and remembered that she had left it at home. She grabbed her keys from their place in a drawer and let her boss know she was leaving. She slid behind the steering wheel of her car and turned the key in the ignition. The VW Beetle purred to life. Paige let her mind wander as she guided the car toward the manor.

Stopping at a red light, Paige watched as cars passed in front of her in the perpendicular direction. She didn’t notice that Cole had flamed into the back seat. Paige turned her direction to the rearview mirror and froze when she saw Cole.

“Oh, don’t look so scared little sister. I won’t kill you.”

“How did you…?”

“Get in the car? I simply flamed in.”

“You flamed in? That makes you a demon.”

“You’re really smarter than your sisters, you know. You have doubts about people; you see them for what they really are. I’d admire that about you if I didn’t hate you so much.”

With those words Cole grabbed Paige’s hair and pulled her head toward him. She winced in pain and flinched in fear. She tried to reach for his hand so she could pull her hair back out of his grasp but the more she moved the harder he pulled. He whispered into her ear.

“Paige, Paige, Paige…you’re quite the wildcat. Very much a Prue wannabe aren’t you? The light isn’t going to turn green anytime soon. You better get out and run before I hurt you.”

Cole let go momentarily and Paige took the opportunity to step on the accelerator. She made a quick right cutting off several cars. Cole laughed in the back seat.

“I should have known that you wouldn’t run. Don’t bother trying to take me to the manor either. It will only serve to further my cause.”

Paige listened intently but continued on her journey to the manor. Every few seconds, Cole would pop her on the back of the head, much like the way a big brother does to a younger sibling. Paige couldn’t control her tears as she pulled onto Prescott Street. Her face was reddening in anger and annoyance as Cole continued to taunt her from the backseat of the car.

She quickly pulled the car onto the curb in front of the manor. Before she could open the door, Cole shape shifted into a different man and grabbed Paige’s hair once again. She let out a small yelp as he turned her face toward his own with his free hand.

“Don’t you dare think that Phoebe will ever believe that I am evil. They will hate you Paige…and they are already beginning to. You’ll see. Go ahead and tell them about me. Go ahead.”

And with that Cole shoved Paige’s head into the steering wheel and flamed out.

Paige slowly lifted her head, still crying in disbelief and in pain. She lifted a shaking hand to her forehead and felt the gash that was caused by the impact with the steering wheel. Her world was spinning. She managed to find the handle to the door and crawl out of the car. Standing wearily she worked her way toward the concrete steps leading to the manor. She stumbled and fell to the ground. She felt lucky that she missed the concrete and landed in the soft grass beside the walkway.

She could hear the front door opening.

********************************

Piper had watched as Paige’s car had pulled to the curb. She could see everything that took place in the car. She couldn’t believe what she had seen. She let Phoebe know that Paige was home but said nothing of what she had seen.

Together they went to the front door. As they opened it, Piper was the first to see a trembling, crying Paige trying to stand up. She knew the hit Paige took had dizzied up her world.

“Oh God. Paige!” Piper yelled as she ran to her youngest sister.

Phoebe followed only a few steps behind. As the older Halliwells helped to steady their youngest sister, they noticed the gash on her forehead and the tears from her eyes. Piper could tell that Paige wanted to say what happened but she knew that Phoebe wouldn’t believe either of them at the moment. She was too angry and too in love to see the truth.

Piper quickly decided that she would not back Paige up when Paige revealed what had happened to her. She would not reveal that she saw who it was. Piper realized the only way to solve the problem was to get the cold hard facts, and to get it all on video.

“Shhhh…it’s okay, Paige you don’t have to tell us what happened yet. We’ll get Leo to heal you and then we can talk.”

With the mention of Leo, Piper’s heart began to pound. She tried to decide if it were true, or if it were a game being played against the Charmed Ones.

*******************************

“Paige? Paige, wake up.”

Paige could feel a hand on her cheek, soft and gentle. She opened her eyes and realized immediately that her head no longer ached. She looked up into the sweet blue eyes of her Whitelighter brother-in-law.

“Leo? Thanks. I feel better.”

She slowly lifted herself off the couch and looked into the querying eyes of her sisters. She quickly remembered why she was home and why she had been unconscious.

“Paige? What happened to you?” Phoebe was the first to ask.

Paige could tell that Phoebe was genuinely worried. She knew she had to tell her about Cole but instead she held her words in and shook her head with a soft laugh.

“Reckless driving. I got in a hurry to get here and wham! I stopped too quickly in front of the house.”

She looked to Phoebe who seemed to buy her story. Then she turned her eyes to Piper and realized that Piper wasn’t buying anything.

“Why did you guys call me home?”

Piper sat in the chair opposite the sofa. Phoebe took her place on the arm of the chair, and Leo continued to sit next to Paige on the sofa. Paige glanced nervously from one face to the next.

“Okay, you guys are scaring me. Is someone dying?”

Phoebe didn’t laugh as she held up the two red matchbooks, “Do these look familiar to either of you?”

Paige’s forehead creased as she looked at the matchbooks. She had never seen them before. She laughed as she read the name on the cover of them.

“Ya-Ya’s Sleepaway? Where in the world did you get those?”

Paige could see what she believed to be relief on Piper’s face. Leo’s voice next to her sounded unsure and unsteady.

“Piper? What’s going on? What is the deal with those matchbooks?”

Paige could hear Piper let out a sigh and then smile a sweet, sincere smile.

“This morning as I was doing the laundry I found one of these matchbooks in your back pocket Leo. And then as I was taking your backpack off the kitchen table Paige, another of these matchbooks fell to the floor.”

Paige caught on quickly to what Piper was getting to, “And you thought that Leo and I were what? Having an affair?”

Paige didn’t mean to laugh as hard as she did. Leo turned to face her with an offended look.

“What?” Paige asked. “Oh, no offence Leo, but come on you guys, he’s not my type. He’s too…nice.”

Piper nodded her head agreeing with Paige that Leo was indeed not her type.

“And besides that, I would never hurt you guys that way. “ Paige paused as reality struck her. Her sisters had actually entertained the idea that she would have an affair with one of their husbands.

“I can’t believe you would think that I would sleep with your husband Piper. Do you really think so little of me?”

Phoebe jumped in with an attempt to defend Piper, “Well, Paige, let’s face it, you can be a little flighty and flirty, I mean Cole says you’ve hit on him before.”

“Phoebe! That’s ridiculous,” Piper interrupted.

Paige could feel the anger growing, “Look, Phoebe, just because I hate your husband doesn’t mean that I would go in the exact opposite direction and fall in love with Piper’s. I have never and would never hit on your husband…I don’t like demons.”

Phoebe’s face flashed in anger as well, and Paige could tell an all-out battle was about to ensue. She watched as Leo and Piper stepped toward the two tense frames of herself and Phoebe.

“Listen to me Paige. I know Cole. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me, or those I love. So get over it already. Cole isn’t a demon. He isn’t evil.”

Phoebe moved toward Paige as though she was ready to fight. Paige backed off. As angry as she was she would never raise a hand to her sisters. She felt lucky when Piper stepped in.

“Phoebe! Go to Cole’s and cool off. I will talk to Paige.”

“This is my home too, Piper. I can stay if I want to.”

“Phoebe…go and I will talk to Paige and we will get this all straightened out.”

Paige turned her back to Phoebe as Phoebe stormed from the manor slamming the door on her way out. Paige cringed as she heard the breaking of the glass that had been in the door. She waited for Piper to speak.

******************************

Piper knew what she had to do.

“Leo,” Piper said softly, “will you leave and give me and Paige a little time to talk?”

Leo nodded still shocked about the entire conversation. He orbed out leaving a tired Piper, and crying Paige to contend with one another. Piper took in a deep breath and sat on the couch. She motioned for Paige to sit next to her and felt a pang of guilt as a teary-eyed, emotional Paige sat far from her on the couch.

“Paige, listen to me.” Piper chose her tone and her words carefully. A plan had been forming in her mind through out the entire confrontation.

She looked in Paige’s eyes as Paige turned to her.

“Paige, I know what you want to tell me. I know you want to tell me that Cole is evil. Don’t. Don’t say a word to me about it. I don’t want to hear it. I know you think your intuition is telling you otherwise, but Cole is our sister’s husband. This isn’t an easy thing for her to listen to. And when something hurts Phoebe, it hurts us all.”

Piper hated lying to Paige. She knew she was telling Paige that she didn’t believe her and that she thought Cole was good, and that was a lie. She could see the hurt in Paige’s eyes as she denied her the opportunity to tell her side of the story. Piper already knew her side. She had seen Cole in the car. She had seen him shape-shift, slam her little sister’s head into the steering wheel and then flame out. Piper knew Cole was more than a demon. She knew he was the new source. And she would make him pay for it. But in the meantime, she had to lie to Paige. She had to let Cole play with Paige’s mind so that he would become careless in his endeavors to drive Phoebe and Piper away from Paige. Piper knew in her heart that the matchbooks she had found had been a part of that plan.

Piper stood and began to walk away from Paige and the living room when finally she heard Paige’s unsteady voice. She didn’t face Paige because she knew if she did Paige would see the tears shimmering at the rim of her eyes.

“Piper…I won’t say anything about Cole. I won’t. But you promised me one time, after we defeated Gammil, that you would never doubt my intuition again. I won’t say anything more, but if he kills me, then you’ll know, won’t you? I love you, Piper. And I would never do anything to disappoint you. I’m sorry.”

Piper turned to Paige to tell her the truth, to tell her that she had seen Cole in her car. But as she turned all she saw were the blue lights of Paige’s orbing. Piper was alone in the living room. Alone in the manor. She hated being alone.

“Leo!”

Cole stepped forward and watched as the seer mixed a concoction that reeked of evil. His lips snarled into a wicked smile that sent chills up even the seer’s spine. She looked away from Cole and continued to stir her potions.

“What is it that we’re making, anyway, Seer?”

“It is a hallucinogen. It will make the youngest see things that are not there…it will make her see things about her sisters that aren’t there. She will think they are against her, and for you.”

“Good. It’s what I want. To have her all alone.”

“May I ask, sir, why the intense hatred for Paige Halliwell?”

Cole looked thoughtfully into the thick brew on the large cauldron. His face twisted in a show of emotion.

“Seer, it is said that hatred can be closely linked to passion.”

“So you feel passion for this sister? What about your wife?”

“Perhaps it is the evil that attracts me so much to the one I hate. Why are you asking me these foolish questions, Seer? Do your job.”

The Seer bowed respectfully and continued with her preparations. Cole flamed out of the chamber leaving only the echo of a barely audible chuckle.

***************************************

Paige let the blue lights fade around her before focusing on her surroundings. She had no particular destination in mind when she had orbed out of the manor. She only thought about how hurt she felt and she orbed. She was nervous when she did not immediately recognize her location, but as her eyes adjusted to the minimal amount of light, she could make out the familiar posters on the walls. She was inside Piper’s office at P3.

“I guess that makes sense.” She thought to herself as remembered the hundreds of times in the past few years that she had found refuge at P3. It was something she hadn’t told her sisters. She hadn’t told them about the countless nights she had wound up at P3 hiding in the shadows, watching her sisters, all three of them, and dreaming of the day they would be a family.

Paige sat on the couch in Piper’s office and sighed outwardly. She folded her arms across her chest and closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe Piper wouldn’t even listen to her. Her ears rang with Cole’s words, “Don’t you dare think that Phoebe will ever believe that I am evil. They will hate you Paige…and they are already beginning to. You’ll see. Go ahead and tell them about me. Go ahead.”

Paige shuddered as she remembered the hiss in Cole’s words, the intensity in his face as she looked at him in the rearview mirror. She hugged herself tighter and tried to picture Piper as she had looked before Prue had died. She remembered secretly watching Piper, Prue and Phoebe the night the Goo-Goo Dolls had played at the club almost two years before. They were happy about something. Paige had been eavesdropping from a table not far away. They were barely audible over the cheering crowd she listened as they had talked about Phoebe’s report card. She had watched as they all smiled.

Piper’s face was soft and kind and friendly. Her smile had been real. Paige let her mind skip to the present image of Piper she held. Piper had changed. She had hardened, as though the heartache were too much for her to bear. Paige knew that Piper would probably never tell her the three words she longed to hear. She had been alone for far too long, and now, Cole was coming between her and the two people she cared most for in the living world.

As though on cue, Cole flamed into Piper’s office. Paige let out a yelp of surprise and fear.

“Damn it! Cole, why don’t you just kill me already?” Paige was astounded that the words had come from her mouth. More astounding was the tone in which she had said them. She didn’t sound afraid.

“Nah…that’s too easy Paige. I’m going to have more than enough fun watching your world fall to pieces. Who knows sister dear, maybe by the time I get through with you, you’ll kill yourself and I won’t have to worry about getting my hands messy.”

“They’re going to see the truth about you Cole. They’re going to know.”

“Maybe. But by the time they realize the truth…you’ll be so far gone it won’t matter, and Phoebe will have already turned…heart…and soul…to me.”

Paige bit her lower lip. She was scared for Phoebe’s life, but it was her soul that she cared more about. She couldn’t picture Phoebe as evil, Paige thought to herself, but then again she hadn’t pictured Piper as a Fury.

“Cole, what are you going to do to them?”

“What? I won’t do anything to them. I love Phoebe and I can tolerate Piper. But there’s something about you, Paige, something that I hate.”

Paige stood face to face with Cole. She didn’t care what he did to her as long as he left her sisters alone.

“Cole, if you hurt me, you will hurt them.”

“Didn’t seem that way today at the manor did it?

Paige hoped her surprise wasn’t apparent in her eyes. She wondered to herself how he could keep watch on the house without being felt or seen. His voice, thick with wickedness, continued.

“I mean, you told them it was me, didn’t you? And neither of them believed you. Let’s face it Paige, they can’t love you. They won’t love you. They’ve never even uttered those words to you. They feel nothing for you. And it’s better to be hated by me, than it is to be a nothing to them.”

Involuntary tears slid upon Paige’s cheek as her pale complexion turned a shade whiter. She felt some truth to Cole’s statement.

“I may be nothing to them Cole, but it will always be better than being anything to you.”

*********************

Piper and Leo listened intently outside her office door at P3. They could hear every word Cole told Paige. Piper had filled Leo in about her plan to show Phoebe the true devil within Cole. Without seeing it for herself, she knew Phoebe wouldn’t believe any of them. Love was blind that way.

Piper’s heart twisted in its rhythm as she listened to Cole convincing Paige that she wasn’t loved. And it broke as she heard Paige basically agreeing with him. She felt Leo’s hand on hers and she was glad that she had someone to help her on her plan. She knew she should tell Paige about the plan. She knew Paige would go along with it, but if Cole as the new Source should read Paige’s mind, then he would know that he was being set up and then he would be on his best behavior for Phoebe. Piper knew that Paige had to be bait, and Leo had agreed.

She laid her hand gently on the door and listened more closely.

*********************

“So you say, Paige, but let’s face it, you feel something for me, don’t you?”

Paige hoped Cole could visibly see the disgust she felt coursing through her veins. Before she could react, Cole pulled her roughly against him and kissed her. Paige fought him and pulled back completely disgusted.

“I’ll see you later little sister.”

With that, Cole flamed out. Paige sank to the floor, her knees weak and body trembling. She couldn’t believe what had taken place. She cried harder as she pulled her knees into her chest. She began to wonder to herself if coming home to the Halliwells’ had been a mistake.

*****************************
Piper held onto Leo as they orbed away from P3, leaving Paige, consoling herself on the floor of Piper’s office. Piper had wanted nothing more than to burst open the door and pull Paige into a hug, but she knew that it would have to wait. Piper and Leo appeared in the living room of the manor in a flash of bright blue and came face to face with Phoebe.

“Where have you guys been? I came back after that little display with Paige to make amends. I mean…I’m not about to apologize to her because she’s wrong. Cole is good. But I don’t want her to think that I hate her or anything. But she’s wrong. Cole wouldn’t hurt anyone, any more.”

Piper could hear the uncertainty in Phoebe’s voice. She wondered if Phoebe had seen things about Cole that provoked suspicion but was in denial. She studied Phoebe’s voice as Phoebe continued to declare Cole a humanitarian and doer of good deeds.

“Are you trying to convince us, Phoebe? Or are you trying to convince yourself?”

Piper interrupted Phoebe’s flow of words. Phoebe looked at her abruptly, a frown creeping down her face.

“I’m not trying to convince anyone. I’m just tired of having to choose between Cole and sisters.”

“No one is making you choose, Phoebe. If you feel that kind of pressure perhaps your precious humanitarian husband is the one putting on the heat.”

Piper knew she was treading thin ice as she saw the hurt look in her sister’s eyes. She was pushing at Phoebe a little harder than she planned, but she was still angry from the exchange she overheard at P3 between Cole and Paige. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She could feel Leo’s hand on the small of her back and she wasn’t sure if the gesture was annoying, or calming. Either way she was glad Leo was next to her. Without a word he could calm her immensely by his presence. He jumped into the conversation.

“Look, Phoebe, Piper didn’t mean anything by that. And the truth is, Cole is a great guy…”

Piper’s stomach churned with disgust as she let the words go as well.

“Leo’s right, he is a great guy, Phoebe. Paige is just not used to having sisters, and I think that now that she does, she wants to protect us even when we don’t need protecting. She’s just gung-ho about loving us. Do you think it’s possible that we could be as gung-ho about loving her?”

Phoebe looked partly embarrassed as she nodded her head. Piper took note of that look of guilt and took Phoebe’s hand into hers. Although Paige was her youngest sister and the baby of the family, Phoebe would always be her comfort, her companion. The thought crossed Piper’s mind that if Cole won then she and Paige would lose Phoebe forever. On instinct she pulled Phoebe close to her and held her tightly. She wished she could have done the same for Paige. But the plan, she thought, the plan.

******************************

Paige had orbed into her room only seconds after Piper and Leo had orbed into the living room. She didn’t realize anyone was home until she heard the voices downstairs. She wiped away the remnants of tears on her face and crept to the stairs to eavesdrop on her sisters and brother-in-law. She was intrigued that Piper seemed to, at first, take her side and then seemed to be on the side of her demon brother-in-law. Paige watched as Piper took Phoebe into an embrace. Paige’s heart hurt from longing to be close to someone. She shook her head and walked back into her room thinking she would never have that love.

*********************************

Cole laughed loudly as the Seer asked if the hallucinogen had been given to Paige.

“Patience, Seer. It’s a game now. All things in due time. I put it in a bottle of water she had in her room. She will drink it eventually. But until then, I shall continue to play with her mind with my own ingenious endeavors.”

Cole flamed out as the Seer bowed. He appeared in the hallway of the manor. He could hear the voice of his wife and Piper with Leo below in the kitchen. Hearing the clatter of pots and pans, he knew his oldest sister-in-law was getting ready to prepare dinner. Good, I’m starving, he thought to himself, as he peered at Paige’s door. It was not closed completely so he stepped to it and looked inside. He watched as Paige sat on her windowsill looking out at the afternoon traffic. He could see that she was crying and somewhere deep inside a man’s voice, barely a whisper, begged him to leave her alone. But he ignored his old soul and embraced his new one as he pushed open the door and closed it behind him, startling Paige out of her reverie for the second time in an hour.

“Me again, Paige. Miss me yet?”

“Leave me alone, Cole. Please. I won’t say anything to Phoebe any more. I won’t, just leave me alone.”

Cole stopped in his tracks as though considering her suggestion a possibility. He almost laughed when he saw her expression of hope.

“As if, little sister. There would be no fun in just living as is. Would there?”

He loved the fact that she trembled when he was around. He made her feel fear and that was something for which he was proud. She had slid off the windowsill and was backing up against the wall behind her. She had no place to run. He knew she would orb at any given moment. He abandoned all previous plans and decided he would take the game too far. Killing a charmed one would feel more than good. It would be magnificent.

**********************

Paige was ready to orb. She was frightened more than she thought possible. The tough-girl exterior that she had worked so hard to perfect was shattered by Cole’s intense stare. Replacing the old exterior was the interior person she had been hiding all along. The scared, lonely, little girl with no parents, no friends, no hope.

She was thinking of a place to orb to when Cole suddenly lunged toward her. An involuntary scream left her lips. She could feel his hands on her arms and before she could do anything about it he flamed out. She didn’t realize until they landed together in an underground cavern that she had been taken along with him. As the fear spread throughout her every thought, she prayed that Piper and Phoebe would come to their senses and figure out Cole’s game before it was too late.

************************

Piper heard the door shut upstairs and within seconds heard Paige scream. She quickly dropped the pan she had been looking for and rushed to the stairs calling out for Paige as she went. She had been worried that Cole wasn’t through with Paige and she felt as though her instincts were dead on. She knew Leo and Phoebe weren’t far behind her.

She threw open Paige’s door and found no one in the room. She leaned against the doorframe for support and heard a breathless Phoebe behind her.

“Where is she?”

Piper couldn’t control herself any longer as she looked to Leo and he nodded orbing out to get information from the elders.

“Piper, what’s going on? Where is Paige?”

“He’s got her, Phoebe.”

“Who has her, Piper? Tell me what’s happening.”

“The new Source took Paige.”

“What new Source, Piper?”

Piper could tell Phoebe was confused and terrified. She knew Phoebe was probably wishing that Cole was there to help them. She wished she could tell Phoebe all about her husband. But she knew they had to act immediately if they were to help Paige.

“Phoebe, I would tell you about the new Source but frankly you wouldn’t believe me. Let’s go check out the book until Leo gets back with some answ…”

Piper’s sentence was interrupted when Leo orbed into the hall. Phoebe was the first to comment.

“That was fast.”

Piper was concerned, “Too fast. Leo, what is it?”

Piper could see that Leo’s face was pale and that his blue eyes were more than fearful.

“Piper…it’s bad. Seems as though what you saw was real, and what you think is true.”

Piper tried to ignore the baffled look on Phoebe’s face as she concentrated on her husband’s countenance.

“Leo, did they tell us what we needed to do to get her back?”

He nodded, “They did, but Piper, it’s dangerous and…”

“It doesn’t matter. I will do anything to get Paige back. Even if I have to go down there and kick the Source’s ass myself.”

“That’s just what you have to do…what we have to do. The Elders agreed that we have to orb into the underworld and find where Paige is being held. I can’t sense her from here so the only way to track her is to go where she is.”

Piper took note that Phoebe hadn’t spoken a word. She could see the wheels turning in her eyes. She knew the cognitive process was hard at work.

“Leo, why would the Elders even think she was still alive? I mean, why wouldn’t the Source just kill her immediately.”

Leo shook his head. Piper knew she didn’t really want to know the answer. She grabbed Phoebe by the arm and the three of them orbed to the underworld. As soon as they could see that they had orbed into a small cove, Phoebe spoke.

“Orb me back up, Leo.” Her voice was wary and cautious. It was distrusting and quietly angry.

“What? Why?” Leo’s voice was shaky.

“Phoebe we aren’t going anywhere but to wherever Paige is.” Piper was fueled with silent anger and fear for her youngest sister’s life.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me about the new Source. Who is he, Piper?”

Piper began walking forward following Leo’s path. Leo was already sensing Paige’s location. Piper remained quiet as Phoebe followed.

“Who is he, Piper?”

“You know exactly who he is Phoebe. You’ve been suspecting it for a while, haven’t you? And you didn’t say anything. Is it why you’ve been so hateful to Paige? You’ve been siding with Cole against Paige, because you were terrified of the ‘I told you so’ that you had coming.”

Phoebe’s mouth fell open in an attempt to disagree, but it was at that moment that she realized what Piper was saying was true. Piper could tell by the look in Phoebe’s eyes as she turned to face the middle sister that Phoebe was torn. Piper took held her breath as she waited for an answer, for any words. Phoebe closed her eyes. Piper knew that Phoebe was having an epiphany about Cole but she knew there wasn’t any time for any life-altering realizations.

“Phoebe? Look at me. What do you want to do here? Do you want to save a husband who may or may not be the ultimate evil, or do you want to save your little sister. Someone who may be new to the family, but would lay her life down for us as she has proven again and again. You know what Paige is. You know that she is good. She is family. She is our sister.”

Phoebe bit her lower lip. Piper knew the answer. She took Phoebe’s hand and together they caught up to Leo.

“Shhh…” Leo put his finger to his lips. In a soft voice he gave Piper and Phoebe direction. “They’re near here. I can’t quite pick up on them but they’re near.

Piper’s heart beat faster. She hated being so close and yet so far away from anyone she loved. She squeezed Phoebe’s hand and was relieved to feel a reciprocal motion.

*************************************
You'd better hope and pray
That you'll be safe [ that you make it safe]
In your own world [back to your own world]
You'd better hope and pray
That you're gonna awake [that you wake one day]
Back in your own world [in your own world]
[Cause when you sleep at night they don't hear your cries]
[In your own world]
[Only time will tell if you can break the spell]
[Back in your own world]

The song left Cole’s lips and echoed off the chamber walls. Paige sat against the cold rock wall, knees pulled to her chest, head buried in pale arms. She was crying hard enough to block out the sound of Cole’s voice. Yet somehow the words he sang resounded through her entire being. His voice was melodic and yet delivered a chill of fear throughout Paige’s body.

“Please stop singing,” Paige whispered through sobs.

Cole stopped singing and turned haunting eyes to Paige. Paige lifted her head from her arms and quickly turned away from Cole’s stare. She felt his hand on top of her head and then the stinging feeling of being slapped on the back of the head. Paige felt a wave of dizziness.

“Paige, don’t you understand that they don’t need you. They only want you to complete their precious charmed ones tri-fold. You’re nothing to them.”

Paige pushed away the thought that Piper and Phoebe didn’t love her. She knew they might not love her as much as they could, but they would some day. Cole’s constant berating finally broke into Paige’s world.

“Stop it! Stop, Cole. Please, just leave me alone. Why are you doing this?” The tears fell fiercely to the floor as she tried to close her eyes to the image of Cole and his vicious smile. Her body curled against the floor as she tried to shield herself from being slapped on the back of the head. The blow landed solidly on her head.

She could hear the desperation in her own voice begging for silence and peace, as Cole’s own sadistic growl grew louder. She tried again to sense her sisters and orb to them, although she knew that her powers wouldn’t work. She was too inexperienced with them. But she closed her eyes, never daring to look up into Cole’s eyes…eyes that had gone black. She concentrated on Piper. A different feeling came to her than the nothingness she had gotten earlier. Now she could feel that Piper was near. The feeling pulled Paige from her despair and to her feet.

Cole jumped back in surprise as Paige rose from her depressed state and faced him with eyes of steel and a smirk of knowledge.

“What is it? Is your big sister coming to save you? I don’t think so.”

Cole clapped his hands and within seconds ten guards surrounded the entrance to Cole’s chamber.

“You think Piper and Leo can defeat them, without any real power?”

Paige looked at the men standing steadfastly awaiting an order from Cole. Paige once again delved into her power of seeking and felt that Phoebe was with Piper. She lifted her eyes to Cole.

“Go ahead Cole. Hurt me all you think you can, but my sister doesn’t believe in me, and that already makes me dead.”

“Piper doesn’t believe you? Funny, I thought she would be a lot harder to turn against you than that.”

Paige glared at Cole through teary eyes and laughed.

“Not Piper you idiot. Phoebe. She’s not with them. She must not believe me. And if Piper believes anything it’s because the Elders told her about it. Not because of me. So kill me because I’m dead already without my sisters. Just don’t hurt Piper and Leo. Please.”

Cole looked thoughtfully at Paige and granted her request. He sent the men away leaving the entrance open. Paige couldn’t believe her plan was working. She was alone with Cole again. She prayed that Piper and Leo were close enough to find her.

Cole took a step toward Paige. She took note of his action and flinched when he raised his hand to her. She expected another slap on the head but instead she felt Cole grip the nape of her neck. The pain was intense but she took the pain and did not lower her eyes from Cole’s. She could feel him pulling her to him but she resisted. Paige was too weak for the fight as Cole pulled her into yet another kiss. She pushed his face away from hers and spit at his feet. His laugh once again sent shivers up her spine.

“No hard feelings,” were Cole’s words.

Paige was beyond angry, “If you hate me so much Cole then why do you keep doing that?”

“Love, hate, passion, it’s all the same.”

“Passion? With you? Ew!” Paige’s sarcastic comment covered the extreme fear that was overwhelming her as her thoughts ran wildly from one scenario to the next of the things Cole could do to hurt her. She glanced nervously around the room and her eyes landed on the entrance. She could only hope that her sisters would arrive before it was too late.

*****************************

Piper could feel Paige’s scream in her heart before she heard it with her ears. She felt Phoebe’s hand dig into her arm as the scream echoed off the tunnel walls. Leo looked at his wife and Piper could feel the reassurance in his stare. She was grateful he was on the side of good.

“Piper. Where did that come from?”

“Sounds like it was around the corner Phoebe.”

Leo nodded agreeing with Piper. They slipped around the next curve in the tunnel and came to an opening in the wall. Beyond the opening they were appalled at what they saw.

Piper could feel Phoebe’s hand trembling on her arm as they took in the image in front of them. Paige was backed into a corner. She was crying like a child lost. Cole stood over her laughing continuously hitting her on the back of her head and once grabbing her hair roughly in his hand. Cole’s voice was loud and loathsome as he berated Paige. Piper cringed at the sound of the youngest sister’s whimper.

“Paige! Look at me. You are not really wanted by anyone. Phoebe would never believe you over me. Piper hates you! You could never be her precious Prue. And Leo? Leo only tolerates you because you’re eye candy.”

Paige crawled deeper into the corner. She could taste the blood that trickled slowly from a cut on her lip received from a misplaced slap from Cole. She dared not look into his eyes for every time she did she believed what he said. She wished she could see her sisters, she wished she could…

Her thoughts were interrupted by another strike to her head. She lied down on the cold rock floor of the cavern and let the coolness soothe her. She was feeling more than dizzy as she cried out.

“Piper!!! Please help me. Where are you?” Her words began as a roar and ended with a barely audible whisper.

Piper’s heart fractured as she heard her sister calling for her. She shook Phoebe’s hand from her arm and turned to face the middle sister. She whispered so that Cole, still yelling at Paige, wouldn’t hear them.

“Phoebe…it’s now or never. He will kill her. You’ve seen it now with your own eyes. Now what are you going to do to stop it?”

Phoebe hesitated but only for a second. “We run in there, we grab Paige we orb home. Cole will follow. We use the crystals and vanquish him.”

Piper nodded and offered no reassurance to Phoebe. She knew that there would be plenty of need and time for sympathy after Cole was gone. Piper knew that she would have two sisters to comfort after he was gone. And she knew there would be a relationship between Phoebe and Paige that would need serious mending.

Piper, Phoebe and Leo ran full force into the room. Leo tackled Cole and slammed him into a wall. The look of surprise on Cole’s face turned immediately to anger and to shame as he saw a tearful Phoebe staring back at him.

Paige felt Piper’s hands wrap around her own. She lifted her eyes and looked in to Piper’s praying that it wasn’t an illusion.

“Piper?”

“It’s okay, Paige. We’re going to take you home.”

“Phoebe?” Cole’s voice was soft but stern as he looked at his wife inching closer to Paige and Piper.

Phoebe said nothing as Leo wrapped his arms around the three sisters and the four of them orbed out of the chamber.

“PHOEBE!!!!!!!!!!!” Cole burst out in anger.

****************************

The crystals were placed in the attic. The sisters took their places next to each other. Cole appeared and in a flash of fire and exploding windows he was gone. Phoebe sank to her knees in grief. Paige leaned against Piper in relief. Piper was torn between which of her sisters to comfort.

Phoebe pulled herself up from the floor without a word. She walked away from Piper and Paige and within seconds, Piper could hear Phoebe slam her bedroom door. The oldest sister closed her eyes knowing that the end of the Source was merely the beginning of a long road. So much had gone unresolved. So many words had been exchanged. Too much had happened to start from the very beginning…but, Piper thought as she squeezed Paige’s hand, the beginning is where everyone must start.

The end!