Disclaimer: I don’t own them I do however own Pollux.t>
I do not own anybody from the Charmed Universe. I just like to play with the Charmed Ones a little bit. I assure you I always have them back before dinner, which I've even attended a couple of times. What can I say? Grams likes me, says I'm like a part of the family. Anyways, Enjoy!!!!!

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“Alright, Piper. All of her surfboards have been cleaned for storage, placed in their protective cases, and put in the basement.” Phoebe entered the kitchen to find Piper putting away fruit and vegetables.
“Good. I’ve taken care of the shopping. This menu is kind of hindered by her inability to eat fish.”
“You’ll work around it, that’s what all great chefs do.” Phoebe extended her hand and Piper gave her the papers they had been given by the heart doctor.
“See, she didn’t drink coffee before . . . not a big deal.”
“Okay, Dudes” Paige bounded into the kitchen. “Anything she could trip over has been moved back against the wall, so we only have a problem if she walks into the wall . . .”
“Which is a possibility.” Piper reminded her.
“Yeah, can you imagine? I guess depth perception is one of those things we take for granted.” Phoebe interjected her opinion.
“The good news is she’ll eventually adjust. Even be able to surf and do the extreme sports thing again.”
“Yeah, except for the occasional morning when her left eye thinks the right one still works.”
“The doctor said once she adjusted, those would be few and far between.” Piper tried to be optimistic.
“Yeah, well then there’s the whole arrhythmia thing to deal with.” Phoebe was a little less optimistic.
“She won’t be able to do it as much, but she’ll still be able to do it. We have to be positive for her. It’s our job to take care of her and that’s a job none of us take lightly.”
“About that,” Paige began shyly. “Remember when we found out Dagron was after her and we wouldn’t let her out of our sight? Remember how annoyed that made her? I can assure you that is going to happen again.”
“She’s just gonna have to get used to it. There is no other option at this point. If Leo healed her, it would create too many suspicions and the magic could be exposed. I’m sure you all remember Dr. Williamson.”
“I don’t.”
“Come on, Paige.” Phoebe threw her arm around Paige’s shoulders. “I’ll tell you the story on our way to the pharmacy to get her prescriptions and other stuff.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Prue entered her little sister’s hospital room, preparing to take her home, she found Pollux in a worse mood than expected. Dr. Grey - Pollux’s eye doctor - was there, preparing to take bandage off for the last time and Pollux was squirming and protesting.
“I don’t need that thing.”
“Pollux, I understand your hesitation, but it’s only temporary . . .”
“I said I don’t need it.”
“Pollux!!!” Prue’s voice rang through the hospital room like a shot and Dr. Grey stepped back from the hospital bed to give Prue time to gain control of the situation - not that Prue really needed time. She walked towards the hospital bed and dropped her purse and the bag she was carrying into a chair in the room. “You will sit still. You will listen to Dr. Grey. And you will do whatever she says.”
“Prue, I don’t need an eyepatch.”
“Ms. Halliwell, I’ve been trying to explain to your sister that this is only temporary . . . that as soon as we get her a pair of sunglasses ordered, she’ll hardly ever need the patch.”
“Why do I need something to block light from my eye? It doesn’t see anything . . . haven’t you been paying attention?”
Dr. Grey advanced Pollux. “Ms. Halliwell . . .”
“Matthews.” Prue and Pollux corrected in unison.
“Sorry, it’s just that you two are so much alike, I forgot you only share one parent.”
“Excuse me?!?!?” Again in unison.
“Oh - kay. Let’s try this again. No, you can’t see the light, but your eye is now more sensitive to it. Trust me, if you actually let light into your eye without protection, you’d be thanking me. We have to protect your eyes at all cost. As soon as the sunglasses arrive, you can wear them ninety-eight percent of the time. Until then, the patch is the best route.”
“Pollux, answer Dr. Grey.”
“Fine.”
“Alright, now I just need you to close your eye while I remove the bandage, then I’ll put the eyepatch on and you won’t have to see me until the middle of next week.”
Prue watched as Dr. Grey finished up with Pollux. Dr. Grey then handed Prue an appointment card as well as some care instructions to take home. Prue shook Dr. Grey’s hand and watched her leave.
After Dr. Grey had left the room, Prue roughly pulled the shirt Paige had packed for Pollux out of the bag and headed towards her little sister. “You know, that is the best eye doctor in the state. You would think you would show her a little more respect.” Prue began helping Pollux out of her hospital gown and into her clothes.
“I don’t think I need . . .”
“Well, she does. And, since she is the one with all the degrees and years of school to back her up, I think we’ll defer to her.”
“Fine.” Pollux was less than thrilled. She allowed Prue to help her get dressed, but the task was done in silence. Just as Prue finished tying one of Pollux’s shoes, the nurse walked in with the discharge papers.
“Ready to go home, Ms. Matthews?” The nurse extended the clipboard towards the sisters.
Prue intercepted it and began looking over the papers and signing on the appropriate blanks. Pollux watched as Prue took care of the papers. She was a little less than enthused, but she decided to keep quiet about the whole thing. She grabbed her other shoe and started to put it on. Prue finished with the clipboard and handed it back to the nurse. As the nurse began gathering the copies of the papers that Prue received, Prue took the shoe from Pollux and finished the job. A few minutes later, the sisters walked out of the hospital room in silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Pollux!!” Paige practically squealed as she ran down the steps to her baby sister. Paige engulfed Pollux in a hug as Phoebe came running into the foyer followed by Piper. Phoebe joined the group hug.
“Okay, guys . . . don’t hurt her.” Prue cautioned.
Paige and Phoebe reluctantly broke the hug. Paige kept a hand around Pollux’s waist.
“Welcome home, little one.” Piper gave Pollux a gentle hug and kissed her on the cheek. “What can we get for you?”
“Yeah, you still need your rest.” Paige supplied.
“So, we’re going to be waiting on you hand and foot.” Phoebe also helped.
“That’s not necessary.” Pollux weakly replied.
“Okay, to the couch with you.” Prue ordered.
Once Pollux had been situated on the couch with the remote control placed securely in her hand, Piper sat on the coffee table in front of her. “So, you hungry?”
“No. Just a little thirsty.”
“We have juice, tea . . .”
“Just a Coke, please.”
Piper looked up at Prue. They had reached their first hurdle. Prue sat next to Piper.
“Baby, you can’t have caffeine.”
“What?”
“The caffeine is bad for the arrhythmia. There’s a few adjustments we have to make in your diet.”
“I’ve been thinking about a Coke for quite a while now . . .”
“I’m sorry. I’m not saying you’ll never have one again, it’s just that you can’t have one all the time, so it’s best if we get used to the new eating habits before we let you have the few treats.”
“Treats?” Pollux said the word with distaste. “I’m not a dog.”
“No, you’re not. Treats was probably the wrong word there. So what do you think, Pollux? Juice? Water?”
“Whatever . . .” Pollux had been looking forward to coming home for a few days now, but this day kept getting worse.
“Alright, everybody. Pollux probably doesn’t want us staring at her all day, so everybody go back to what you were doing. Piper will get Pollux some juice and we’ll all see each other at dinner.”
“I’ll be in my room if you need anything.” Paige kissed Pollux on the cheek and walked towards the stairs.
“I’m going to go develop some pictures.” Prue planted a kiss on Pollux’s forehead and headed to the basement.
“And I have a date with Cole. Be back soon.” Phoebe also kissed her little sister and headed for the door.
Pollux exhaled deeply, snuggled down on the couch, and flipped on the television. Piper returned a moment later with a glass of orange juice and an apple.
“Here you go. Juice and a snack.” Piper handed Pollux the items and pulled a blanket up around her sister. “You eat your apple, drink your juice, watch some TV, and just rest. Okay?”
Pollux nodded her head in the affirmative and took a bite out of the apple. Piper ran a hand through her sister’s hair and then headed back towards the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cole shimmered into an alley a few blocks down from the restaurant where he was supposed to meet Phoebe. He straightened his jacket and started to leave the alley when a voice behind him brought him to a halt.
“Belthazor.”
Cole turned around and grinned. “Remus, what can I do for you?”
“Dagron requests the honor of your presence.”
“As soon as I get a free moment, I’ll honor that request.”
“Off to see your witch.”
Cole had his hand about Remus’ throat almost instantly. “That’s none of your concern. Just tell your leader I’ll see him shortly.”
Cole relinquished his grip enough for Remus to shimmer away. Cole then once again straightened his jacket and headed towards the restaurant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Phoebe was already waiting when Cole got to the restaurant. He walked up to her, kissed her, and moved his lips to her ear.
“Just pretend like I’m whispering sweet nothings in your ear” he instructed.
Phoebe playfully slapped him on the chest as she smiled. “Okay.”
They followed the waiter to their table. Sitting in chairs next to each other, Cole once again began whispering in Phoebe’s ear. She would answer through laughter and smiles in a quiet voice, both acting very much in love and very much like they needed a room.
“Dagron wishes to see me.”
“Dagron as is ‘tried to kill Pollux’ Dagron?”
“That’s him.”
“You can’t go. He may kill you.”
“If I don’t go, he’ll definitely send bounty hunters after me. That will put you and your sisters in danger.”
“We can handle it.”
“You have enough to handle with Pollux just coming home. You don’t need to add anymore to it. I’ll be alright.”
“What are you going to tell him?”
“That I’m making you think I’m in love with you and waiting for the right moment to attack.”
“Will he buy that?”
“What other choice do we have?”
“You could go into hiding . . . “
”No. I refuse to hide from demons. I’m one of them, damn it. I can take care of myself.”
“But Cole . . .”
“No. My mind is made up.”
Phoebe sighed heavily. There was no use arguing with him. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
Cole nodded and kissed Phoebe. She sat back down and they ordered lunch. Lunch was pretty much eaten in silence, neither venturing to say too much, fearing that someone was listening to their conversation. Once the check was paid, Phoebe rose first. She once again leaned into Cole’s ear. “We’ll look for a way to vanquish him. Be careful. I love you.”
“Love you too.” Cole whispered back and kissed Phoebe. She returned his kiss, grabbed her purse, and headed out of the restaurant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Not now, Leo! It’s just too dangerous.” Piper was moving back in forth at the kitchen counter while arguing with her husband.
“Not with all the magic in this house.”
“Yeah? A lot of good that magic did Pollux. Why don’t we go talk to the person who can only see out of one eye about the magic in this house cutting down on the danger.”
“You didn’t lose her.”
“We could have.”
“Piper,” Leo tried to reason. “I thought you wanted kids.”
“I do want kids. I also want to see them grow up happy and healthy. Imagine how much power a child of ours would have - that would be too much to deal with.”
“We could bind it’s powers.”
“Like Grams did us? I don’t . . .” Piper’s argument was cut short by a thud in the hall, followed by a very distinct not-so-nice word. Piper looked towards the hall. “Pollux?” No answer. Piper headed towards the hall to investigate.
Pollux was in the hall, standing on one foot and rubbing her other knee.
“What happened?” Piper asked worriedly.
“Nothing.” Pollux shot back defensively.
“Okay. Don’t need the attitude.”
Pollux exhaled deeply. “I hit my knee on the table.”
“Are you okay?” Piper headed towards the knee instinctively.
Pollux held her off. “I’m fine. Just give me a second.”
Piper backed off a little. “Pollux, where were you going?”
“I heard raised voices in the kitchen. I was just trying to make sure it wasn’t a demon.”
“If you thought you heard a demon, you should have yelled for one of us.”
“I wanted off the couch, okay? I’m tired of doing nothing but lying around.”
“Pollux, you just got out of a . . .”
“Coma. I know, I know. At least while I was in the coma, I was doing something. I mean, for Pete’s sake, I had to climb a freakin’ mountain to get back to you.”
“Huh?”
“Nevermind. Just accept that I’m tired of doing nothing and I would at least like to be near one of my sisters right now.”
“Okay . . . okay, let’s head back into the kitchen.” Piper put an arm around Pollux’s shoulder and guided her towards the kitchen. Once she had Pollux at a seat at the counter, Piper went back to cooking. “So did you have a nice nap?”
“Eh . . .” Pollux answered nonchalantly as she started flipping through the cookbook Piper had laying on the counter. “What’s this?”
“New cookbook.”
“Uh-huh.” Pollux closed the cookbook and looked at the cover. “American Heart Association . . . oh, for the love of . . . I do not need to change the way I eat.”
“Dr. O’Connor says otherwise.”
“I’m active, athletic, I don’t think I’m fat.”
“Of course you’re not fat . . . there are just some foods that you eat that aren’t healthy and some healthy foods you should eat that you don’t.”
“I’ve surfed on the amateur circuit . . .”
“Pollux, calm down. Stress is not good for your heart.”
Pollux looked at Piper as if she were growing antlers. “What part of ‘my heart is fine’ do you not understand?”
“The arrhythmia part.”
“Prue! Paige!” Phoebe came into the kitchen screaming for her two missing sisters with all her lung power.
“Phoebe, what’s going on?”
“Dagron.”
Pollux was immediately interested. “What about Dagron?”
“He’s requested a meeting with Cole, which Cole took to keep up appearances. We have to figure out a way to vanquish him.”
“Alright, what’s all the yelling about?” Prue emerged from the basement.
“Dagron.”
Prue barely heard Phoebe’s answer, she was staring at Pollux. “What are you doing off the couch?”
“You forgot to secure the chains.”
“What is that supposed to . . .”
“Did somebody yell for me?” Paige came into the kitchen.
“Okay, we need to get to the Book and figure out how to vanquish Dagron.”
“Right.” Prue agreed with Phoebe. “As soon as we get Pollux back on the couch.”
“No. I’m going to help you.”
“No, you’re not. You’re still too weak.”
“I have a personal interest in this that will keep the adrenaline pumping. Trust me.”
“Pollux, he nearly killed you.”
“Which is why I should be involved.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t be involved.”
Pollux was tired of arguing. “You know what’s good about a coma and the resulting hospital rest, Prue?”
“Nothing.”
“The time you spend with just your brain, with nothing to do but think and learn more about your inner self and how to control it.”
“What are you, a Tibetan Monk now?”
“You know what’s good about control over your inner self?”
“What?”
“It gives you better control over your magic. See you in a few minutes.” Bluish-white lights formed around Pollux and then she was gone.
“Ooohh . . .” Prue was clearly agitated with her little sister’s behavior. She turned around and stormed up the stairs, the remaining three sisters clearing a path, then following her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“When I get my hands on her . . .” Prue was mumbling to herself as she ascended the attic steps. She knew exactly where Pollux had orbed and she was none too pleased about it. Prue pushed open the door, yelling at Pollux as she went. “You listen to me, young lady. You do not . . .” Prue stopped her berating of Pollux the minute she caught sight of her. Pollux was on her knees on the attic floor, her right hand clutching her chest, the cast on her left arm supporting a lot of weight. “Pollux! Pollux, what happened?” Prue ran to her sister’s side.
“Hurts . . . bad.” Pollux managed in between gasps.
“Leo! Leo, get your whitelighter ass in here now!”
Leo pushed past Phoebe and Paige and was by Pollux’s side in a second.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Heal her!” Prue commanded.
“There’s nothing to heal, Prue. It’s the arrhythmia . . . she used too much energy orbing up here. She’s just going to have to ride the pain out.”
“That’s just great!” Paige pushed Leo out of the way and sat next to Pollux.
Prue started whispering in Pollux’s ear. “Breathe, baby. Just breathe.”
“Can’t.”
“You have to stay calm.”
“Easy . . . for . . . . . you . .to say.”
“Paige, do you remember the prescriptions you and Phoebe went after today?” Prue watched Paige nod. “The nitroglycerin . . . call for the nitroglycerin. It’s the smallest bottle.”
Paige nodded and stuck out her hand. “Nitroglycerin.” Within seconds the small bottle had orbed into her hand.
Prue took the bottle from Paige and quickly removed one very small pill. She then moved her hand to Pollux’s mouth. “Here. Put this under your tongue, just let it dissolve there.”
Pollux took the pill as instructed. Several agonizing minutes later Pollux’s breathing became more normal and she slowly lowered her hand from her chest.
“Better?” Prue questioned.
“Yeah. It’s almost over.”
“Good.” Prue kissed her sister’s temple, then addressed Piper, Phoebe, and Paige. “If we ever have to give her more than two of those . . . she needs to go to the hospital.”
All three sisters nodded. Pollux squirmed slightly on the floor - moving from her knees to a sitting position.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime. Just so you know, you’re probably going to have a headache later and feel weaker.”
“Not later. Now.”
“It’s the pain and the pill.”
“So now I have a power I can’t use.”
“No. That’s not true. You’re not ready to use it yet, that’s all. You’re still recovering. Your body is still adjusting to the new problem. I know the doctors think that the arrhythmia could have been a pre-existing condition, but I don’t believe that’s true. I think you developed it when they had to shock you back.”
“Prue!” Piper wasn’t sure that Pollux should know she had been dead - even if it was for just a few seconds.
“It’s alright, Piper. I know I was gone.”
“How?”
“Well, I was there. Just for the record, the doctors may have pulled out their little paddle thingys and they may have used them on me, but I came back. Me. I made the decision not to leave.”
“Well, I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that we’re all very glad you made that decision.” Phoebe didn’t doubt a single word Pollux was saying.
“Can we look in the book now?” For a second, Pollux reminded Prue of a little kid - now that her problem was over, she just wanted to graze over the subject and hope her earlier transgression was forgotten.
“First, we need to get you downstairs.” Paige suggested.
“She can stay. She just can’t over-exert herself.” Prue motioned for Piper to sit on the couch. She then motioned for Paige to help her help Pollux up. Within minutes, Prue and Paige had Pollux on the couch leaned against Piper.
Phoebe had been checking the Dagron page of the book. “There’s a potion, but we need a piece of flesh - just like Belthazor.”
“Who’s Belthazor?” Pollux asked.
“Cole in his demon form.” Piper quietly answered her.
“Oh.”
“Any suggestions on how we get the piece of flesh?” Paige questioned.
“Well, we could use the same plan we used on Cole.”
“Except that no matter what we come up with, he’s going to be expecting it. Remember, he could be listening to us right now.”
“Oh, God!” Phoebe had forgotten that fact. She was now running through all the things she had said since she walked in the door and if any of them could hurt Cole.
“Phoebe,” Prue was reading her little sister’s mind, “I’m sure it’s okay.”
“What if we make a potion to stun him first? Then Piper could freeze him and we could get the flesh.” The wheels in Paige’s brain were turning.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, didn’t you guys say you had gotten Belthazor flesh? All upper level demons are wired the same, aren’t they? Couldn’t we substitute Belthazor flesh for Dagron flesh. That would have to do something, right?”
“Maybe . . .” Prue mulled the thought over in her brain. “Except I don’t think Cole wants to make another donation and that was months ago.”
“Actually,” Piper began shyly. “We still have Belthazor flesh. I put it in an airtight container and put it in the freezer.”
“Ewww . . . and why would you do that?”
“Just in case.”
“In case of what, Piper?”
“Phoebe, now is not the time to get defensive. Piper, Paige, you two start making the potion. Phoebe, you go wait for Cole. And you,” Prue turned on Pollux. “You and I have some serious talking to do.” Prue headed for Pollux, helped her up, and the two of them headed downstairs.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twenty minutes later, Prue had Pollux changed into one of Damon’s old t-shirts and a pair of his swim trunks. Pollux was in Prue’s bed and Prue was pulling up the covers. Pollux defiantly pushed a blanket and the comforter off of her, leaving only the sheet. Prue pushed them back up, only to have Pollux resist.
“Prue, I’m hot.”
“Fine.” Prue let the comforter go, but refused to budge on the blanket. “Now, just what did you think you were doing earlier?”
“Helping you.”
“Pollux, you’re weak.”
“I’m fine.”
“Okay, A) You walking into things . . . definitely a possibility. B) Your heart . . .”
“Is fine.”
“Do you not remember gasping for breath, feeling enormous pain just a little while ago?”
“Of course I remember. I just had a small issue, it was nothing. I can help you guys fight demons.”
Prue sighed deeply. “Yes, Pollux, you can . . . one day soon. But that day is not today and it won’t be tomorrow. You have an arrhythmia.”
“No.”
“Alright, the denial . . . not helping you.”
“I can’t have an arrhythmia. I surf, scuba dive, rock climb, mountain bike, kayak, cave, all sorts of other sports . . . I am now also a demon fighter. An arrhythmia is not conducive to that lifestyle.”
“Pollux, calm down. You are still really young. You can adjust to the arrhythmia and still do all the things you used to do. You may not be able to do it everyday, but you will be able to do it again.”
“I couldn’t even orb to the attic!”
“Once again . . . you’re still healing. You have to give it time.”
“We don’t have time. What do you want me to do - ‘oh excuse me, Mr. Demon, it’s not a good day for my heart, could you come back tomorrow’? Do you think that will work?”
“Pollux, you have to give your body time to heal and adjust. You have to eat better and take better care of yourself. I did not get you back, just to bury you. We will protect you until you’re better.”
“And what if you get hurt protecting me?”
“Not going to happen.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know that we’ll all take excellent care of you. I know that you getting this worked up is not good for you. I know that your head is still splitting from the nitroglycerin. And I know you need rest.”
“Have I mentioned I am sick of just lying around?”
“Yeah, but the more you do it now, the less you’ll have to do it later. Now, you take a nap and Piper will bring you up some dinner in a little while.”
“Now, I can’t even eat with you guys?!”
“Not tonight. Not after what happened in the attic. Now, not another word . . . sleep.” Prue kissed Pollux’s cheek and gently pushed her down into the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prue walked into the kitchen just in time to hear the explosion, see Piper giggle, then see Piper help Paige off the floor.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Yeah! Yeah, it happened to me last year. No substitute for experience.”
Prue walked in, trying to contain her laughter. “Piper, that was slightly mean.”
“Uh-huh, but now she’ll never forget to stand back when she drops demon flesh in a potion. Potion’s almost ready. How’s Pollux?”
“Stubborn.”
Piper faked shock. “A stubborn Halliwell . . . never! Paige did you know Pollux was stubborn? You should have told us.”
“It will only get worse too. The longer we watch over her, the worse it will get. Oh and can I mention, she scared me to death in the attic?”
“Yeah, you can, Missy Paige.” Piper hugged Paige tightly. “She scared us all.”
“If all goes well, those will get fewer and farther between.”
“But for how long?” Paige looked at Prue with seriousness in her eyes.
“Years . . . hopefully decades. She’s only twenty-four, there’s a good chance her body will adapt and function almost normally except for the skipped beat.”
“And when she’s fifty-four?”
Piper hugged Paige even tighter. “Let’s not worry about that now. Let’s just love her and take care of her for as long as we have her.”
“Which will be a very long time.” Prue tried to help.
All three sisters stood lost deep in their own thoughts. That’s how Phoebe and Cole found them. “Guys, Cole is back.”
“Where were you?” Prue tried to play it as if a demon could be listening to their conversation.
“Out.” Cole picked up on her subtlety. “Had a business meeting with an old friend . . . needed my advice on a case.”
“Wait,” Paige looked at Cole. “You were a demon and a lawyer. Insert joke here.”
Piper playfully swatted at Paige. “What kind of case?”
“A murder case. Somebody is slaying or at least, attempting to slay, beautiful young girls.”
“They have anything in common?”
“They haven’t figured that out yet. All they know is that the one he’s after now, has a very beautiful necklace. Of course all her friends have the same necklace.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So we all know the plan right? Wait in the alley, stun with potion, freeze, get flesh . . . everybody got it?” Prue questioned her siblings. They were all standing in the kitchen.
“Got it.” Paige assured her.
“Uh, Prue . . . we’ve forgotten something.”
“What have we forgotten?”
“Pollux.”
“That’s comforting to know.” Pollux was slowly entering the kitchen, trying not to walk into anything.
“Hey,” Paige quickly put her arms around Pollux’s shoulder and guided her into the kitchen.
“Okay, so what’s the plan?”
“For you? Rest.”
“Now how did I know you were gonna say that?”
“Alright, whose going to stay with Pollux?”
Silence hung in the air for a moment, then Pollux looked at her sisters. “Well, don’t everybody jump at once.”
“Pollux,” Piper began, “It’s not like that. It’s just that there’s a demon . . .”
“Oh and I understand nothing about wanting to help my sisters fight a demon . . .”
“Pollux . . .” Prue growled.
“Look, nobody needs to stay with me. I’m fine.”
“There is still a demon who wants you dead. We’re not leaving you alone, defenseless.”
“I’m not . . .”
“Attic . . . chest . . . pain . . . remember?”
“Yes, Prue.” Pollux resigned herself to her fate.
“Okay, well yours and Paige’s powers are the most similar, Prue.”
“Go, Prue. I’ll stay with her.”
“Okay. You know all the doctor’s instructions?”
“Yep.”
“Alright, we’ll be back as soon as possible.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, let’s review. I play decoy, demon attacks. Prue throws potion, Piper freezes, and Prue slices and dices until we get the demon sushi, and then we get out of here. Everybody ready?” Phoebe wanted to make sure nothing went wrong. A deserted area of the park at dusk was not her favorite place for attacking a demon. The girls knew that Dagron was a very cunning, resourceful, and careful. All this meant that if something went wrong here, it could be a few days before they got another shot at him.
Phoebe must have walked the same area of the park twenty times, with Prue and Piper staring at her from some bushes.
“He’s not coming.” Piper was growing tired of this.
“Damn demons . . . they could at least show when they’re supposed to.”
“Prue, how much longer are we gonna give him?”
“I don’t know, we need to get back to Paige and Pollux. I’m sure Pollux is giving Paige trouble.”
“Prue, they grew up together. I’m sure Paige can handle her.”
“Yeah, but still . . .”
Piper recognized the worry in Prue’s face. “Alright, let’s get Phoebe . . .”
“Wait.” Prue put a hand on Piper’s shoulder as a demon shimmered in
“Hello, witch.”
“Goodbye” Phoebe delivered a kick to his mid-section.
Phoebe’s kick was just enough to cause an athame thrown by a woman to miss the demon and hit a tree. This caused the demon to shimmer out. She stared at the sisters, obviously upset. “I had him.”
Piper stared back at her. “Who the hell are you?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, is anybody else worried that we haven’t heard anything about Dagron for almost a week now?” Paige was spreading cream cheese on a bagel.
“I’m more concerned we haven’t heard from Emma. You just know the next time he shows, she’s going to be there trying to destroy him, and that gives us more to worry about.” Prue was separating the newspaper.
“Can you imagine . . . tracking the demon who killed your fiancé for over a year . . . and not even being a witch. She trained herself.”
“Yeah, which gives us so much more to worry about. I mean, we had him in the park and thanks to her athame trick, he shimmered out.”
“Prue . . .” Paige felt sympathy for Emma.
“Morning.” Pollux came into the kitchen yawning and stretching. A week home had done wonders for her . . . she looked very much like her old self and she hadn’t had an episode with her heart for two days now.
“Morning.” Piper kissed her on the head.
Pollux grabbed a bowl and began pouring her chocolatey, sugary cereal in a bowl as the conversation continued.
“I mean, come on, Prue. She’s determined to kill the demon with the athame he used on her fiancé.” Paige was defending Emma.
“Yeah. A demon who takes a potion to vanquish. She’s going to get herself hurt.”
“God knows you’re opposed to someone exposing themselves to maybe getting hurt.” Pollux mumbled under her breath as she grabbed the milk
“Pollux . . .” Prue warned. “I heard that.” Prue grabbed a plate of fresh cut fruit from the refrigerator and began unwrapping it.
“Well, I didn’t exactly whisper.” Pollux turned around to replace the milk. As Pollux replaced the milk, Piper grabbed the bowl of cereal and held it out to a just entering Phoebe. Prue then set the fruit down where the cereal had been. It was a morning routine, by now - a routine Pollux loathed.
“Thanks, Piper.” Phoebe took the bowl and proceeded to the table.
“Damn it!” Pollux discovered the fruit as Prue poured a glass of juice and placed it next to the fruit.
“Pollux, you know the sugar and chocolate aren’t good for you. Plus you don’t eat enough fruit.”
“One morning . . . just one morning I would like to have what I want!”
“Sorry.”
“The coffee isn’t good for you.”
“I’m not under doctor’s orders not to drink it.”
“Why does Phoebe get my cereal?”
“Paige has a bagel and Piper and I don’t want the cereal.”
“Have I mentioned this drives me insane?”
“Eat your fruit.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Pollux . . .”
“You know what?” Pollux went to the backdoor and grabbed her jacket from the coatrack. “You guys have a good day. I’ll see you later.”
“You can’t drive. Not yet.” Prue reminded her little sister.
“I’ve got legs, haven’t I?” Pollux yelled over her shoulder.
Piper, Phoebe, and Paige watched Pollux go. They also watched Prue continue with what she was doing.
“Prue?” Piper questioned.
“She’s mad. She’s been needing to blow off steam for a couple of days now. The walking is good for her.”
“But, Prue . . .” Phoebe began.
“We don’t know where she’s going.” Paige finished.
“She still walks into things.” Prue reasoned. “She’ll walk around the block, get frustrated, and come back. I mean really, how far could she get?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright, I’m beyond worried at this moment.” Piper came bursting into Prue and Pollux’s room.
Prue waved her off as she hit two more buttons on the keypad to the phone, then placed the phone to her ear. A moment later ‘Kokomo’ could be heard playing in the room. Piper walked over to Pollux’s bed. She flipped the unmade sheets around for a moment, then held up Pollux’s cell phone.
“Well, at least now we know why she’s not answering it.”
“What have I told her about leaving the house without that thing?” Prue’s worry was materializing in the form of anger.
“The same thing you’ve told the rest of us.” Phoebe offered as she came into the room, followed by Paige.
“Have I mentioned yet that she doesn’t have any medication with her at all?”
“Yes, Paige. About seven times.” Prue ran a hand through her hair.
“Huh? That’s the same number of voice messages on Pollux’s phone.” Piper commented.
“We could try scrying for her.” Phoebe looked at her sisters.
“I’ve been scrying all afternoon, Pheebs. Why would she show up now and not before.”
“You’ve been using a map of San Francisco. Right, Paige?” An idea came into Prue’s head.
“Yeah. So?”
“What if she’s not in San Francisco? What if she’s orbed somewhere?”
“She wouldn’t.” Piper began. “She’s just gotten to the point where she can go from room to room without pain. Surely she wouldn’t try cross-country orbing.”
“Or cross-continent.” Paige knew how Pollux and travel worked. Pollux got upset, she took off for destinations unknown . . . it didn’t get any simpler.
“She’s going to have to learn she can’t switch zip codes every time she gets upset.” Prue barked. “Especially not now.”
“LEO!!! LEO, WE NEED YOU!!!” Piper yelled for her husband.
“Leo?”
“Well, she is his charge, isn’t she? He can sense her can’t he?”
The bluish white lights started to form in the bedroom and seconds later, Leo appeared. “Hi, honey.” Leo kissed Piper. “You called?”
“We need you to sense Pollux.”
Leo looked around the room nervously, which was not missed by Prue.
“What? What do you know that we don’t?”
Leo knew he couldn’t avoid the subject. “She’s fine.”
“Leo, a demon could be after her.”
“Which is why she is number one on my priority list at the moment. I’m keeping a very close eye on her. Her heart is fine. She’s got a bruise on her arm from walking into a mailbox, but other than that, there are no problems.”
Piper grabbed Leo’s hand. “Take me to her.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“She called me earlier . . . right after she walked out this morning. She made me promise not to tell you where she is unless she was seconds away from dying.”
“Tough luck.” Piper squeezed Leo’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“I can’t. I promised.”
“Well, why would you make such an insane promise?”
“Because she’s my charge and she has to trust me, just like you guys have to trust me. She made me promise and I don’t intend to break it.”
“Leo, she’s our sister!!!”
“And she’s not in any supernatural danger at the moment. This is a mortal problem. One you guys are going to have to learn to work through on your own. I’m not getting involved.”
“You got involved the moment you promised to keep her secret.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“Is this how you would behave if we had children? What Mommy doesn’t know won’t hurt her . . . I promise I won’t tell her.”
“Piper, that’s not fair. Those would be our children. Pollux is your sister. It’s a different set of rules entirely.”
“How? I’m responsible for keeping both of them safe.”
“Piper, I’m not having this argument with you right now. We’ll continue our discussion on children later. Right now, I have to go. A charge is calling.”
“Is it Pollux?”
“No.” Leo started to orb out.
“If she gets into trouble.”
“You’ll know right away.” With that the orbs were gone.
“My husband, and all his morals and wisdom.” Piper flopped down on Pollux’s bed, exasperated.
“Well, at least we know she’s safe and Leo’s watching her. That’s something, right?” Phoebe tried to look at the positive side, but her sisters weren’t exactly skipping along her thought path.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Have I mentioned I’m going to kill her?” Prue was sitting on the couch, arms crossed over her chest.
“When did Saturday night primetime programming get so bad?”? Phoebe flipped through the channels while seated on the couch next to Prue. Paige and Piper were both staring out the window, thinking if they looked hard enough she would magically appear.
“Maybe we should try Leo again.” Paige suggested.
“There’s nothing supernaturally wrong with her. If there were he would have gotten us by now.”
“He would have also gotten us if she were badly hurt. This is a sibling thing.” Phoebe reasoned.
“Paige, is this normal?”
“Oh yeah. Pollux’s first instinct anytime anybody tries to tell her what to do, is run.”
“I was trying to protect her.” Prue tried to defend herself.
“I know that Prue, and I’ve agreed with every decision you’ve made. The thing is, like it or not, Pollux had some horrible people in her life in the past who constantly made her do what they wanted. That’s why her first thought is to run. That’s why, sometimes when we hold her to comfort her, she tries to break free. In Pollux’s brain, telling somebody what to do and holding them tightly lead to trouble.”
“We’ve got to get past this. She has to understand that we’re only trying to look out for her. She has to understand that we have her best interest at heart.”
“I think she knows that. I just think that old instincts are rooted so deep, that she’s constantly at war with herself.”
“Where could she be?” Piper wondered aloud.
“I don’t know.” Paige grew even more solemn. “I do know, wherever she is, odds are we aren’t going to be happy about it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, what’s that?”
“Huh?” Pollux looked up at the cute young man who just took the seat next to her. “Oh, a snakebite.” Pollux returned her attention to her drink.
“Snakebite . . . don’t think I’ve ever had one of those.”
“It’s Yukon Jack and lime juice.” Pollux answered before downing the shot and grabbing the bartenders attention. “Another one of those. Oh, and a glass of Jack on the rocks, please.”
“You know, this isn’t a pick-up line, but what is a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
Pollux looked around the bar. The word ‘dive’ didn’t cover it, but she had been in worse - way worse. “I could ask the same of you.” Pollux looked him up and down. Khaki shorts . . . polo . . . sandals . . . this guy was pretty much screaming ‘Yoo-hoo, bikers, I’m over here. Come and kick my ass.’
He laughed slightly. It was a nice laugh - Pollux liked it, or was that the alcohol talking? How many shots had she had now? Five, no six - yeah, it was definitely six. But that didn’t make much sense. Pollux had a high tolerance for alcohol, even with the few drinks she had, she shouldn’t be feeling it this much. ‘Of course, there’s something wrong with my heart now’
“You okay?”
“Sorry, what? I didn’t hear what you said, I kind of zoned out.”
“The big guy, in the back, playing pool.” he indicated one of the larger ‘Hell’s Angels’ “He’s my brother.”
Pollux’s eyes grew wide and she laughed. “Really?”
He smiled at her. ‘Wow, what a great smile. Stop it, Pollux! What are you doing? Damon hasn’t been gone that long. Besides, Prue probably won’t let you date somebody you met in a place like this . . . khaki shorts or not.’
“Is that so hard to believe?”
“Yeah, I mean . . . No! I mean . . . look it’s been a long time since I’ve done this first conversation thing . . .”
“Is that why you’re drinking shots and straight whiskey in a place like this. Did he hurt you?”
Pollux instantly grew angry. How dare he assume. “He’s dead! Thank you very much. And I am here drinking because I have sister issues. Why is it that you assume that the only reason a girl would come drinking in a place like this is because of a guy.” Pollux downed her shot and Jack Daniels and jumped off the barstool. In her buzzed, still not seeing everything clearly state, she bumped into a girl at the end of the bar while she was storming towards the door.
“Watch it!”
Pollux held up her hands. “Sorry, I didn’t see you.”
“I’ve been right here for almost an hour.”
“I, uh, I don’t . . .” Pollux was at a loss for words, how did she even attempt to start to explain, especially to a drunken possible prostitute and her boyfriend.
“You should apologize to my old woman,” The man on the barstool next to the woman stood up.
‘Shit, he’s tall. Why is he so tall.’
“Look, this is all my fault.” Khaki shorts stepped forward. “I upset her and she was leaving.”
“Well, then you should learn to control your girlfriend better.” He stepped towards the cute guy, which attracted his brother’s attention away from his pool game and before Pollux knew it, everything was more than a little out of control.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Pollux!!!” Piper grabbed the phone on the first ring.
“Hi, Piper.”
“Pollux, where are you? It’s one-thirty in the morning.”
“Piper, can I speak to Phoebe, please?”
“Huh? Pollux, what’s wrong?”
“Phoebe, please.” Pollux was firm.
Piper extended the phone to her little sister. “She wants to talk to you.”
“Me?” Phoebe took the phone “Pollux? What’s wrong?”
“Phoebe, remember when you told me not to squander my role as the youngest?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Remember when you told me to be the ‘crazy, unpredictable, devil-may-care one’ and to ‘let you shoulder the rest of the responsibility’?”
“Yeah, why? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Phoebe, can you please come bail me out of jail?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Daryl! Daryl, where is she?!?!” Phoebe ran towards the first familiar face she saw.
“Phoebe. She’s fine . . . relatively speaking.”
“Thank God! What do you mean relatively speaking?”
“Well, it turns out the initial two bikers are friends and since neither of them want to face any trouble, they’ve both dropped the charges.”
“Bikers? I don’t want to know where she was, do I?”
“Probably not. So, everybody’s been released except her.
“Okay, so why is she the lucky one?”
“Well, first there was the matter of her bar tab . . .”
“Which is already taken care of . . .” a cute guy in khaki shorts walked up to Phoebe and Daryl. “Hi, I’m Michael.”
“Hi, Michael. And you took care of my sister’s bar tab, because . . .”
“This whole thing was kind of my fault.”
“You’re not scoring any points here, Michael.”
“My brother,” Michael pointed to a huge, hulking, biker, “He just jumped the gun. We would have been fine. She just kind of bumped into his buddy’s girlfriend.”
“Bumped or walked?”
“Walked . . . actually. Anyway, the whole thing got out of hand so quickly . . . and then we were here . . . and this guy wouldn’t let me bail her out . . .”
Phoebe turned to Daryl, “Thank you.”
“And I realized I don’t even know her name.”
“Okay, well how much do I owe you for the bar tab?”
“Nothing. I upset her. That’s why she was storming out. So, you’re probably not gonna let me talk to her either, so could I just get her name and phone number.”
“You’re serious?”
“How about I give you my phone number . . . will you give it to her?”
“Give me the number, then we’ll see.” Phoebe took the number and watched the guy leave. She then turned to Daryl. “Is she okay . . . her heart, I mean?”
“She fought the arresting officers when they first tried to handcuff her.”
“That’s because of her foster parent experiences . . .”
“I explained that to them . . . that’s why there were no resisting arrest charges - that and the fact that I now owe them a lot of favors.”
“Again with the thanks.”
“When they got her to calm down, enough to put the cuffs on, she complained of a little bit of pain. They saw her medical bracelet and handcuffed her in front, instead of behind her back.”
“So the resisting arrest . . . that’s why she had to have someone come get her?”
“No. She had to have someone come get her because her Blood Alcohol Level was point four-seven.”
Phoebe closed her eyes for a moment and tried to digest the information. “Can I just take her home now, please?”
“Sure thing. I’ll go get her.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prue stood up from her place on the front steps of the manor as she watched Phoebe help Pollux out of her car. Phoebe had her hand around Pollux’s waist, guiding her to the house.
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you are in, young lady?”
“Twenty-four-years-old, free, been around the world more times than I care to count - so not much.”
“Wrong answer.” Prue grabbed Pollux’s arm and threw it over her shoulder. “Did we visit a brewery this evening?”
“Nope. Biker bar. Hi, Piper!” Pollux smiled widely for the sister who was holding the door open.
“Hi, Pollux.” Piper gave a slight smile to her baby sister.
“Damn it, Pollux! Why do you do these things?” Paige was shaking her head.
Pollux simply shrugged. Prue and Phoebe got her to the couch and sat her down.
“Well, I would say give her black coffee, but she’s had more than enough bad things for her heart this evening. How much have you had to drink, Pollux?”
“You said I smelled like I visited a brewery. You tell me.”
“Pollux.”
“Phoebe, why don’t you tell her?”
Prue raised her eyebrows. “Phoebe?”
“I come get you from jail and this is my repayment. By the way, when I told you to call me at four a.m to be bailed out of jail - I didn’t actually mean do it.”
“Didn’t. I called you at one thirty.”
“How much, Phoebe?”
“Enough to send her into cardiac arrest. I”m surprised she’s still conscious.”
“Paige?”
“High tolerance.”
“Aren’t I lucky? I don’t even get to pass out while you yell at me.”
“Do you not realize you could have killed yourself?”
“Never have before.”
“The alcohol is bad for your heart, Pollux! You have to take care of your heart! If you won’t, we’ll have to - and I swear to you we will! You can’t have alcohol! Period! At the very least, it does not mix well with your medication!”
“Then we’re in the clear. I haven’t had any medicine today.”
Prue looked stunned for a second, then that look changed to downright predatory. Piper saw the trouble coming a mile away and stepped in between her two sisters.
“Prue . . .it’s been a very long night. Maybe we should discuss it in the morning.”
Prue gently - well mostly gently - pushed Piper aside and advanced Pollux. “This behavior is going to end!”
“Hi . . . twenty-four!”
“Don’t care! When you’re one hundred and twenty-four, you’ll still be my baby sister and it will still be my job to take care of you.”
“Congratulations! You’re fired. I can take care of myself.” Pollux pushed herself off the couch and headed towards the stairs.
Prue grabbed Pollux’s forearm and turned her back around. At which point, Prue grabbed the other wrist as well. Add this to the alcohol, the bar fight, the police, and Pollux went to a very bad place . . . a place she hadn’t been in a while. She began struggling to get away from Prue. That’s when Paige stepped up and made Prue let her go. She then started to coo in Pollux’s ear.
“Shhh . . . it’s Prue. Baby, it’s Prue. She’s not going to hurt you.”
Pollux’s breathing calmed. She was then upset that she had gotten upset. “I’m going to bed.”
“Pollux, stop.” Prue stepped in front of her now. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. But you’re still in trouble, here.”
Pollux was just tired of arguing. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to understand what you did wrong. You can’t run away just because we argue. We stand, we fight, we forgive each other later.”
“So I’m forgiven.”
“No. Not by a long shot. Now, you’re going to start taking better care of yourself. You’re going to take your medication. You’re NOT going to leave just because we have a disagreement. And you are NEVER going to need to call us in the middle of the night to bail you out of jail again. Understand?”
“Yes, Prue.”
“Good. Go upstairs. I’ll be up there to help you get into bed in a few minutes.”
“Yes, Prue.” Pollux did as requested.
Phoebe waited until she was gone. “Prue, you can’t yell at her like you do us.”
“It sends her to a very bad place.” Piper contributed.
“We have to find some way to get through to her.”
“Maybe if we knew where she was coming from.” Piper thought aloud.
“Paige?”
“I don’t know all the details. Even if I did, you should probably hear most of it from her. I just don’t think she’ll talk.”
“Well, one day very soon, she’s not gonna have a choice.” Prue ascended the steps to help Pollux.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoebe walked into the kitchen the next morning, slightly disappointed that no bowl of cereal was waiting for her.
“Hey, where’s my cereal? And where’s Prue?”
“Prue is upstairs with Pollux and since Pollux is still upstairs . . .”
“You didn’t have to take the cereal from her.” Phoebe realized.
“Oh, poor Pheebs,” Paige came and stood next to her sister. “Here, you can have my banana nut muffin.” Paige offered the aforementioned object.
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem. Piper, can I have another muffin?”
Piper smiled at her little sister and handed her another homemade muffin. Phoebe took her first real look around the kitchen. Piper had made homemade muffins, croissants, bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Leo came in and greedily started filling a plate.
“So . . . Piper, something on your mind?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because Leo is reaping the rewards of you cooking through your emotions . . . unless of course, you were planning on feeding an army. We do have enough food.”
“I can’t make breakfast for my family without something being wrong?”
Before Phoebe could answer, Cole shimmered in and kissed her. “Good morning, baby.”
“Cole,” Phoebe was ecstatic. “Where have you been?”
“Meetings.”
Phoebe didn’t like the sound of that. “Meetings?”
“Yeah. The best guess is that another attempt to kill someone is going to take place soon.” Cole looked at Phoebe solemnly.
Phoebe immediately realized what he was hinting at. “How soon?”
“Soon enough for me to ask you if you got the potion I asked you to get when we figured out that I killed Emma’s fiancé.”
“Wait, you killed Emma’s fiancé?”
“It’s a long story, Paige.”
Before anybody could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. Phoebe took off for the door immediately, “Oh, he really doesn’t think we’re gonna fall for that again, does he? Piper, come on. You may have to blow up the Fed Ex man.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pollux groaned as she rolled over. Her stomach wasn’t in too bad of shape, but her brain felt like it was still swimming in alcohol. It was also a little hard for her to breath and she felt really weak. ‘Ugh,’ Pollux pulled a pillow over her eyes and immediately began feeling around for her sunglasses, that she had gotten from Dr. Grey a couple of days ago. No such luck. Pollux then inhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath. ‘Prue’s shampoo? No wonder I can’t find my glasses . . . I’m in Prue’s bed and that’s her table. Oooh, I think I know why someone with heart problems and a bad eye shouldn’t drink. Just shoot me now.’
Pollux heard the door to the bedroom open and decided to appeal to Prue’s sense of sisterly devotion. “Please, Prue. Can the lecture wait? I’m feeling more than a little weak at the moment.”
“Isn’t that just what I like to hear?” a deep voiced echoed throughout the room.
Pollux moved the pillow and sat up abruptly. A huge red demon with black markings was staring down at her and grinning with all his crazy teeth showing. Pollux swallowed hard. He was standing between her and the door and she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to orb anywhere at the moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Emma, we’ve been over this and over this.” Phoebe had positioned herself between Emma and Cole the moment she had realized who was at the door. “He’s good now. He does good things.”
“He killed the one person I truly loved.”
“Cole didn’t. Belthazor did.”
“And that demon is still hiding inside of him.”
Paige leaned up and whispered in Piper’s ear. “She does have a point.”
“Shhh . . .” Piper swatted her sister.
“How can you protect him? How can you claim to be good witches and still protect him?”
“PIPER!!!!” Pollux’s yell rang throughout the house. “LITTLE HELP, PLEASE!!”
Piper and Paige turned around just in time to see Pollux jump onto the landing of the staircase. Pollux looked back upstairs and immediately ducked, dodging the energy ball that smashed into the wall. Pollux then took the remaining steps three at a time and came to a sliding halt in the foyer. She tried to stand up from the slide, but it had all been too much for her. All Pollux could do was sit on the ground and try and regain her breath. Paige was beside Pollux in a second, holding her close.
“Breathe . . . Pollux, you have to breathe . . . come on, breathe for me.” Paige directed her attention to the landing, as did Piper, Phoebe, Cole, and Emma. (Leo had gotten a call from the Elders when Phoebe was on her way to answer the door) Standing on the landing was a demon who looked very much like Belthazor. He was staring at Pollux intently.
“Dagron!” Cole growled as he turned into Belthazor and threw an energy ball at Dagron.
Dagron dodged and countered with an energy ball of his own. That was all it took for a full fledged demon war to break out and spread into the Halliwell living room. Dagron and Belthazor hitting each other with everything they had. Piper nor Phoebe had ever seen Cole quite this intent on killing his opponent before.
Neither had Prue, who had heard the commotion and had come running downstairs, her hair still dripping wet from the shower. She had only paused long enough to throw on a shirt and a pair of shorts.
“Woah! What’s going on?”
“Dagron.” Paige said from her spot on the ground next to Pollux who was still struggling to breathe.
“Piper, blow him up!”
“What if I hit Cole?”
“Did you make the fresh batch of Belthazor potion?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Maybe it will work on him.”
Piper shrugged, ran to the table and pulled out a small vial. Phoebe pulled a small vial of her own out of her jeans pocket. Emma promptly took the potion from Phoebe and headed towards the two demons.
“Piper! . . . Dagron! Hit Dagron now!”
Piper reared back and threw the potion as hard as she could. She connected squarely with Dagron. Luckily for all the sisters, the Belthazor potion seemed to do the trick. Dagron was engulfed in flames for a split second and then he was gone. Belthazor now turned on the sisters, his face very much still displaying evil.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He had to embrace his dark side completely to fight Dagron.”
“You think maybe you could have told us that earlier?”
“We had hoped it wouldn’t come to that.” Phoebe looked at Cole. “Cole, you can turn back now. Cole, you can do it. For me. For us.” Phoebe watched as Cole kept advancing.
“Prue? What do we do?” Piper looked to her big sister for guidance.
“I, uh . . . I . . .”
“Cole, please, you can do this, you’re good.”
Emma saw this as her opportune moment. She threw the vial she had taken from Phoebe earlier. For a moment, flames surrounded Belthazor. In the midst of the flames, Belthazor turned into Cole - then the flames were gone and Cole dropped to his knees.
“What happened?” Paige was starting to get Pollux’s breathing under control.
“That was the power stripping potion I made to free Cole.” Phoebe told her sisters while walking to Cole and hugging him. “Are you okay?”
Emma pulled the athame from her bag and headed towards Cole. Phoebe caught sight of her and held up her hand. “No! You got your revenge.” Phoebe walked over to Emma. “Belthazor is dead, gone forever. Cole is a human being, an innocent.”
Emma thought this over for a moment. She handed Phoebe the athame and headed towards the front door, letting herself out. Phoebe returned to Cole. Prue and Piper joined Paige at Pollux’s side.
“So that was Dagron, huh?” Pollux’s breathing had almost returned to normal now.
“Yeah.”
“And I’m safe?”
“From him, baby. From him.” Prue kissed her on the forehead as Piper and Paige held her tightly. Pollux looked across the room at Cole and the two locked eyes for a moment, and held each other in a silent regard.
Cole kissed Phoebe. “I’m okay. I need to go out for a little while.” He rose and quietly walked out the door. Phoebe watched him go, then joined her sisters. She ran a hand through Pollux’s hair.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” Pollux answered quietly. “I, uh, I just need to take care of something.” Pollux stood up with help from Piper and walked towards the kitchen.
“You need help?”
“No. I, uh, I just need a little time. Okay?”
“Pollux,” Piper began, but Prue but a hand on Piper’s shoulder.
“Okay, baby. We’ll be here when you’re ready.”
“Okay.” Pollux was almost inaudible as she continued on her way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, Piper . . . what smells so good?” Paige entered the kitchen and took a seat.
“Caribbean jerked chicken, basque potatoes, and chilled asparagus in lemony garlic dressing.” Piper answered without ever looking up from the batter she was whipping.
“Sounds good.”
“I hope Pollux likes it.”
“American Heart Association approved?”
“Should be. I got it from their cookbook.”
“Have you seen her?”
“No. Neither she nor Cole has come back yet. Phoebe is upstairs waiting for Cole and Prue is in the conservatory reading a book.”
“Do you think they’ll be okay?”
“Yeah, they just need time.”
Paige looked around for a moment, then turned her attention back to Piper. “So how goes the baby discussion?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Don’t you want to have kids? Not to be nosey, but if I’m gonna be an aunt and all.”
“You’re not going to be an aunt, alright? At least not anytime soon, it’s too risky. It would be in constant danger around us.”
“What does Leo think?”
“Leo thinks there’s enough magic around here, we’d be able to protect it.”
“Maybe he’s right.”
“Maybe he’s wrong.”
“For what it’s worth, there are ways of seeing what it’s like before you actually have one.”
“Mm-hmmm, great. Well, the next time you pass a baby rental, pick one up for Leo. I’ll settle for Pollux at the moment.”
Leo orbed in and kissed Piper. “Aww, that’s sweet. You two ought to get married. Unlike Phoebe and Cole.”
“You don’t think they should?” Leo questioned his sister-in-law.
“I don’t know. I guess it’s none of my business. Probably just reeling from the fact that Cole killed people.”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t Cole. That was Belthazor.” Piper defended.
“Splitting hairs, if you ask me.”
“It’s not though,” Leo explained. “His human half had absolutely nothing to do with any of that, it was totally subjected. Phoebe’s right, he’s an innocent.”
“The question is, what does he do now?” Piper questioned. All three turned towards the sound of the front door opening and closing. Moments later, the door opened and closed again. Piper, Paige, and Leo all stared at each other, but figured it was best if they waited for someone to come to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoebe was pacing back and forth in her bedroom. Cole walked in and Phoebe ran over and hugged him. “Oh my God! I was so worried.”
“I’m sorry, but I had to take a walk, and then I lost track of time and I tried to shimmer back here and I realized I, I didn’t have